Sacrificial Lamb
by signaturestyle
Summary: Bella saves her brother's life, but it comes at a cost. She has to marry the leader of the Chicago Mafia, Edward Cullen.
1. Chapter 1

My brother is absolutely killing me. I was getting ready for my first date with this super cute doctor when I get a phone call from Ben, asking me if I could baby-sit my five year old nephew, Evan. Normally, I would have told Ben no and mentioned to him that I had plans. I was getting ready to explain that to Ben when I heard his voice. He was fiending. Ben had issues. I was never completely sure how far down they went, but I knew he had dependency on drugs and alcohol. How he had custody of Evan I honestly don't know. He's tried to get his life in check so many times and I don't know what else to do then protect Evan when I know Ben is getting bad. So I cancelled my date with the doctor and headed over to Ben's place.

Ben is my younger brother. He just turned twenty three months ago and I am twenty two. We've always been close because of how similar our ages were. Sticking together when our parents were annoying us and what not. Although we're originally from Washington, we both just moved to Chicago this past year. Me because of graduate school and Ben decided to tag along with because he needed a change of scenery and it was comforting to have a familiar face in a new territory for me. We lived together for a while, but Ben saved up money and now rents his own house for himself and Evan. I thought he was doing better when he kept a steady job and got the house. It seems like that didn't last too long.

I pull up to Ben's house and see his car, a Ford pick up truck, and a large, black Hummer. Who in the world could that possibly be?, I thought. Maybe it is one of his druggie friends. In any case, I opened the front door quietly, in hopes that I would not walk in on anything I didn't want to see.

I called out to Ben, "Hello? Ben?"

I made my way through the kitchen, coming to the door that opened into the living room. As I grasped the handle and barely pulled it open, I could see Ben kneeling on the ground. Why was he kneeling? Was that tape on his..? Before I could finish the thought, a large hand grabbed my waist and another hand went over my mouth, jarring me and putting a throbbing sensation in my jaw.

"If you scream, he dies." The burly man growled at me. Pinning my arm behind my back, he kicked open the door and led me into the living room, where I saw my brother kneeling on the ground, a blond man pointing a gun at his head. I couldn't breathe.

"Sit her down on the chair, Emmett. I think she'll be a good girl for us. You won't scream, will you sweetheart?"

I turned to the voice and looked behind me. Sitting in a chair in the corner of the room was the leader of the group. He radiated confidence and authority. He sat with his elbows resting on his knees, staring me down with a smirk on his face. He ran one hand through his tousled bronze hair and then across his stubble on his jaw. Holy crap. Who was this guy? He had a serious sized gun resting on one knee.

"What's your name love?"

"Bella." I stuttered out. "Swan."

"Ahh. I didn't know you were married Ben!" He turned towards my brother, whose eyes were wide with fear. "Is she the mother of your sleeping child upstairs?" He continued to harass Ben, until I interrupted.

"We're not married." I said quietly, under my breath.

The man whipped his head back around to me, with a glint in his eyes and a laughing smirk on his face. "What's that?"

I swallowed thickly. "I'm his older sister."

He smiled like a vampire smelling blood. "Is that right? Well that makes it quite interesting doesn't it?" He paused. "We have a bit of a problem, Bella. Your brother owes me quite a lot of money. And he hasn't paid it up in some time. What do you think we should do about this?"

"How much? I can help. I can pay it." I pleaded.

"Oh, sweetheart, I think it is a lot more than you can pay. Ben, here, has been gambling and gambling away. Haven't you, Ben?" I looked over at my brother and his eyes were wide with guilt. My stomach dropped to the floor.

The man continued, "So much so, that he has actually racked up a debt going towards the hundreds of thousands. That's a lot more money than I think you can pay, Bella. Unfortunately, the mafia here in Chicago is unforgiving. And I happen to be the leader of it. Pleased to meet you. I'm Edward." He grinned.

The mafia? THE MAFIA? Shit, Ben. What had he gotten himself into?

"Jasper, what do we do with squirmy little rats who don't pay us our money?" The blond man cocked his gun and pushed it harder into Ben's skull. I choked back a sob.

I jumped out of my seat and ran over to Edward. "No, no, please! I'll do anything, anything you want. Just please don't hurt him! Don't kill him. Please. He has a son."

Edward looked down at me and cupped my face in his hands. "Anything I want, huh?"

"Anything." I realized I had just made a deal with the devil, but I had no choice. I had to save my brother.

Edward leaned down close to my face, pushed some hair behind my ear, and looked deep into my eyes. "Marry me."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I should probably clarify something. Some people noted that I got the ages wrong between Bella and Ben. So basically what I wrote was that Ben turned 20 3 months ago, not that Ben turned 23 months ago. Hahah, sorry about the confusion. Didn't want ya'll to think I was stupid. Okay, on with the story. Hope ya like it!

"M-marry you?" This couldn't be happening to me. It couldn't. Why would he want to marry me of all people? He could have anyone!

"That's what I said sweetheart. Of course, if you say no, it's no problem at all. I'll just have to blow dear old brother's head off. Jasper."

I looked over at Ben, who had tears streaming down his cheeks and was adamantly shaking his head no. I panicked.

"Wait wait wait! I'm sorry - I was just shocked. I'm sorry. Don't hurt him. I'll marry you. I will. Please just take the gun away from his head." I sobbed, looking down at my hands.

He grabbed my chin in his hand to make me look at him. "As you wish, princess. Jasper, step away from the dog."

Jasper pushed Ben to the ground and laughed mercilessly at him. I felt like I was in a nightmare. What just happened in the span of 10 minutes? One minute I was going out with a doctor and now I'm engaged to the leader of the Chicago Mob.

"Looks like my business is done here." Edward stood up and turned to my brother. "Ben. You better count your lucky stars that your sister is so god damn good-looking that she completely forgave your debt. It's not every day that I see something as exquisite as her." He turned to me and I smiled weakly. "Thanks."

"Anytime, doll. Okay, let's go." He held out his hand for me to take and I grabbed it reluctantly, scared of angering him and having something sinister happen to my brother. We just had to get out of here to make sure Ben and Evan were okay. That's all I could think about. Just get out of the house and leave and then I would freak out.

"Jasper. Emmett. Let's go." Edward led me out of the house as he laced our fingers together. While we were going down the steps outside of the front door, he turned to me. "Why are you dressed like that?"

I looked down at my outfit and completely forgot that I was dressed for my date still. I had my long brown hair curled at the ends. I picked a short pink dress. The top part was lace and it had a low back. It popped against my tanned skin. I also had on tan wedges, but Edward still towered over me, even with my added height.

"Oh. I was actually on my way to a date when Ben called me to come over." I muttered weakly to him.

"A date? Who with?" I looked up at Edward and his eyes became impossibly darker than they were before. He squeezed my hand. HARD. Letting me know he was not pleased.

"It was just with this doctor I met earlier this week." I explained quickly. "It's not a big deal."

Edward was livid. I could tell. He dragged me to the back of the Hummer and picked me up to put me in the backseat. He climbed in behind me and barked at Jasper and Emmett to drive.

"Can you tell me this doctor's name, Bella? I don't like that he's been touching what's mine." He looked over at Emmett, who was driving, and said, "We're making a pit stop boys. As soon as Bella tells me who the doctor is, I need you to run a background check on him to find his address, Jasper." His eyes were gleaming with dominance.

I had to calm him down or my date was going to get seriously hurt. I couldn't take anymore of this tonight. I scooted closer to him and grabbed his arm. "No, Edward. Please don't. He had no idea; it was only our first date. He hasn't touched what's yours. I promise." I peered up to him with my long eyelashes, hoping that would distract him and he would call off this witch hunt.

Edward took a deep breath and put a hand on my thigh, rubbing his thumb back and forth on my skin. He still didn't look convinced.

"I swear. Nobody's touched me. Okay? Nobody's touched what's yours."

"Alright, baby. I believe you. We won't hurt the doctor." He paused and grabbed my chin. "You belong to me." His grip on my chin got tighter. "Let me hear you say it."

"I belong to you." I swallowed thickly.

He smirked and bent his head down to kiss me. It was explosive. It's like I could feel everything he thought in that kiss. I hated that I was in this position. It made me ache. But I was scared that if I resisted or refused his affection, that he would just turn around and hurt my brother and nephew. I couldn't let that happen. I wouldn't let that happen. They were my family and I would do anything to protect them. Including marrying someone that forced me to be with them. Edward was possessive and he was controlling and obviously he had issues. And I had no idea why he would want to marry me of all people without knowing me. But I had to give this a shot for my family. I would make him happy and stay with him if it meant my nephew and brother would be okay. I was scared, but I needed to accept this and be with Edward.

He ended the kiss and nipped at my throat, my nose, and finally placed a soft kiss to my forehead. I was breathing hard; never had I had a first kiss that was so passionate.

"You're trembling. What's wrong?" Edward leaned down to me.

"I'm just. I'm scared." I had to be honest with him. This was incredibly overwhelming.

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Scared of what baby? I'm the most powerful man in Chicago. I won't let anything happen to you." He smiled at me.

"Why me, though? You could have anyone. Why marriage?" I asked him.

He looked deep in my eyes and explained. "My father died a couple of months ago. He was the head of the mob. After I took over, I've been getting hounded to settle down and get a wife ever since. When I saw you tonight, you were so good. So quick to sacrifice yourself for your brother when he deserved a lot less. He's a junkie, Bella." I shuddered. I didn't want to accept it.

He continued. "But you just sat there with tears running down your face and you were still so breathtakingly beautiful. I had to have you. There was no way I was leaving that house without you with me. I needed a wife and there you were. Like God had chose you himself and placed you in my lap. My little, sacrificial lamb." He gave me a crooked smile. His words were sweet, but it didn't take away my anxiety. I realized just then that I had no idea how old he was, so I asked him.

"34." He told me. "And yourself? You can't be a day over 25."

"22." I replied.

He smirked and kissed me on the cheek. "You really are my little lamb."

I didn't know what to say to that. I looked out the window of the Hummer as we drove. It was then that it occurred to me that I had no idea where we were going or where I was going to be staying tonight. Would I be staying with him from now on? What about my apartment? I loved my place.

"Where are we going?"

He continued rubbing my leg while he said, "You can't be my fiance without a ring can you? Let's make this official sweetheart."

We pulled up to a small, private store downtown. It was nearly ten, so I was pretty sure they were closed. I tried to mention it to Edward, but he merely smiled at me and said he had a feeling they would open it for him if he asked. I immediately felt stupid. Of course they would. He has the city in his hands after all. Edward helped me out of the car and once I was on the sidewalk, I looked at the sign and saw just two letters - HW. HW? I thought, wondering what it could stand for. Edward grabbed my hand and led me to the door. It then dawned on me that the HW stood for Harry Winston. I stopped in my tracks. Edward turned around, confused.

"Don't tell me you're getting cold feet now. I don't want to make another visit to your brother."

I glared at him. "No, it's not that. Edward, HW stands for Harry Winston, doesn't it?"

He laughed, "How very perceptive my bride-to-be is. Come on, love." He tried pulling me forward, but I was still in shock.

"Edward, it's too much. I can't. I just can't let you get me that." I stuttered. I've always had a problem with money. Maybe it's because I never grew up with enough and it's always affected my thinking. Save, save, save. That's all I did with mine and sometimes it still didn't seem to be enough.

Edward studied me. "Baby doll, it's going to happen whether you want it to or not. You're going to be my wife and that means you get the best of the best. You may not be used to a lot of money, but you need to understand that I have a lot of it. What's mine is yours. Alright? So take a deep breath and let's go get your ring."

We stepped inside and it took my breath away. The manager was standing there with a smile on his face. "Ahh, my favorite customer! Welcome back, Mr. Cullen. Who is this beautiful lady?"

Edward pulled me in front of him. "This is my fiance, Bella. She's a little shy, but she needs the best you have for her engagement ring. I'll let you talk to her about her personal taste." He grabbed my arm and pulled me aside. "I have to make some calls, but are you going to be okay by yourself?" I nodded. "Just come get me in the back when you're done. Have fun." He gave me a peck on the lips and signalled to Jasper and Emmett to head with him in another room. I turned around and saw the manager smiling at me. "Circle or square?"

After much discussion, I went with an insanely gorgeous round diamond set simply in a diamond encrusted band. I wanted it to be simple, but elegant and I think I achieved it. I was hesitant before about coming in to the store, but after picking my ring out, I couldn't stop staring at it. It was so beautiful. I couldn't even ask the price; I didn't want to know. I walked over to where Edward was and nearly tripped because I couldn't keep my eyes off my ring. When I walked into the doorway, I overheard Edward on the phone.

"I don't give a fuck about your excuses. Grab the rat and tie him to a chair. Do whatever you need to do to make him talk. I can't hold your hand with this tonight - I'm busy." He hung up while his eyes locked on mine. I took a shaky breath. Tie him to a chair? I felt sick to my stomach and my face turned pale.

Edward walked over to me. "Sorry you had to hear that, Bella. Is this the one?" He grabbed my hand. I smiled shyly at him. "It's so beautiful. Do you like it?" I asked him. He looked up at me. "I like it if you do. Someone seems to be enjoying this even though she was resisting earlier." He teased me. I blushed; I hate to admit it, but he was right. Edward threw an arm around my shoulder and led me to the front of the store. "Alright. Let's go pay for this and get out of here." "I think I'll go wait in the car, if that's okay." I asked him. He nodded and told Jasper to sit with me. I hopped into the back seat and my mind started racing. Where to now? Should I ask him if I can go home? What if he gets upset? Is he taking me back to his place? Does he expect me to sleep with him? Just then, Edward opened the door and sat beside me, placing his hand on my thigh. He kissed me and said, "I'm glad you like it baby."

I smiled at him, "I really do, Edward. Thank you so much. It means a lot to me." I was being honest with him; it really did mean a lot. I know my ring cost thousands and no one has ever bought anything remotely close to that for me in my life. I felt indebted to him, like I was truly his possession now. This solidified it.

"Anything for you, princess. Anything for you." He told me. Emmett broke up our moment, asking "Where to, boss?"

"Let's go home boys. Bella needs to see her new place." Edward's hand kept creeping higher and higher on my thigh and it became tighter, like an iron grip. I took a deep breath as the car lurched forward.


	3. Chapter 3

Saying Edward's house was huge would be a massive understatement. The dude had money and he had a lot of it. We pulled up to old, beautiful wrought iron gates that opened up and led us to Edward's private property. My face was literally pressed against the glass because I was so dumbfounded at what I was looking at. It honestly looked like a castle.

Edward pulled me away from the window of the car back towards him. "Like what you see?" He smirked.

"Edward. This is. This is magnificent. Your house is unbelievable." I felt like I couldn't even form sentences; that's how taken I was with his house.

"Thanks, doll. I'm glad I finally have someone to share it with." That snapped me back into reality real quick. He expected me to live here. This is where I would be staying from now on. God, I felt like I was in a haze. "Come on, let's go inside." He grabbed my hand and helped me out of the car. We went through the front doors and I immediately saw a huge marble staircase, branching out into two staircases that met at the top of the second floor.

"Oh, Edward." I was in a trance. He smiled at me. "Come on, I'll show you our room." He laced our fingers together and led me up the staircase. Edward walked down the hallway to the last door on the left and opened the door. He watched me as I stumbled in. His room was massive. He had a huge canopy bed that took up a big portion of one side of the room. Across from the bed was a flat screen tv mounted on the wall. One corner of a room had his private desk. But what really caught my eye were the ceiling to floor windows covering the back wall of his room. I walked over to them and was in complete awe. You could see...everything. He had so much land. There was a beautiful swimming pool closest to the house. A basketball and tennis court were situated next to it. He also had beautiful gardens on the grounds that just took my breath away. This was all his? It was so much for one person. As I was standing there ogling at the view, Edward came up next to me and put his arm around my waist.

"Do you like it, Bella?"

I turned towards him and swallowed thickly. "Edward. It's beautiful. I mean, really really beautiful."

He gave me a soft smile. It was the softest part of him I had seen all night. "I'm glad you're here with me now. It's all yours." He kissed me and walked towards the bathroom. I realized then that I had to say something now. We had to have a discussion about things. Important lifestyle changes. He, for some reason, was thinking this was just hunky dory and it would work out just fine, but this was my life we were talking about. Was he expecting me just to hop into bed with him and be his good little wife from here on out? This was bizarre.

"Edward, wait."

He turned around, while pulling his shirt off as he headed to the bathroom. "What's up, babe?"

Shit. Why did he have to take his shirt off? His chest was insane. His shoulders were so broad and his arms were huge. It was just then that I realized how much he could overpower me if he wanted to. I wouldn't be able to stand a chance. I couldn't focus on that for too long though because my eyes drifted down to his abs and the v. Oh, the v. It was just so deep and manly and it was all I could think about. He had tattoos all over his chest and arms. I couldn't make them out before Edward was smirking at me.

"You alright, sweetheart?"

I cleared my throat. "Edward, I don't want you to get upset with me, but I think we should talk about some things. I'm not backing out or anything; I just have some questions."

He gazed at me and sat down behind his desk. "Okay. Shoot."

I took a deep breath and sat on the edge of the bed, facing him. "Okay. Well, first things first, what about my apartment?"

He immediately scowled. "What about it?"

"Well, I mean, I love my apartment. It's the first and only place I've ever lived in Chicago. All of my stuff is there. Not to mention, I'm in a lease and I can't really break it."

"Bella, I think you'll find that if you have enough money, you can do anything you want. I'll go talk to your landlord and tell him you have a new place to live and that he shouldn't bother you about it. I'll have people pack and move your stuff here. I need you here, baby. You belong with me, not in some dingy apartment."

"It's not dingy." I whispered under my breath. "What's that?" He asked me.

"Nothing, nothing. It just held a lot of memories for me." I sighed and wiped a tear from under my eye. I hated to get emotional, but I didn't even get to say goodbye to it. It was too much change, too quickly.

Edward noticed me tear up and walked over to me. He bent down in front of me and cupped my face. "I know it held a lot of memories, baby. But, look, you'll make new memories here, with me. Just think of this as a new chapter of your life, okay? I promise I'll make this feel like home." He kissed me so softly on the lips, it felt like a feather. "Alright, I'm gonna go take a shower." He stood up and walked towards the bathroom.

"Edward, there's one more thing."

He turned around, with his eyebrows raised.

"I'm a virgin."

Edward's mouth dropped open. "What? Seriously, what did you just say?"

"I knew I shouldn't have told you. I knew it would freak you out. Listen, there's nothing wrong with me. I'm not defective or anything. I've just always wanted my first time to be on my wedding night, with my husband. I've always wanted that since I was a little girl, okay? So just don't make fun of me. I've heard it all. If you don't want to be with me, okay, but please don't hurt my brother. Please, Edward, please." I knew this would happen. Guys always clammed up when I told them and he was no different. I was terrified how this would end for me and my family.

Edward stared at me for a pause and the next thing I knew he was cracking up. He actually threw his head back and clutched at his stomach. Oh, you've got to be kidding me. Laughing at the virgin. Haha, real funny. I've seen enough of this.

I grabbed my purse and stormed to the door. "Oh, real mature, Edward. Laughing at the inexperienced little 22 year old."

He grabbed my arm as I stomped past him. "Bella, wait, come back. I'm not laughing because you're inexperienced. I'm laughing because you're so defensive about it. You're showing your claws, little kitten. My little lamb is getting fired up. It's cute."

"So it doesn't freak you out?"

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close to him. "Hell, no. I can't tell you how happy I am that you are a virgin. That means that I'm the only man you'll ever be with. The only man that'll make you feel good and will get to feel you beneath me. I'm a possessive motherfucker, baby and no other man on this earth will ever get to taste your cherry but me. That makes me really fucking happy."

By this point, I'm sure my face was as red as a cherry. "Yeah?"

He smirked at me and nodded.

"But what if I'm bad at it?"

"Oh sweetheart. Trust me, you won't be. That's not even possible." He kissed my forehead and leaned down to my ear and whispered, "And don't worry. I'll teach ya some moves."

I laughed and smacked his arm. "Edward!" He gave me a crooked smile and pulled me back towards him. "So you're okay with waiting until our wedding night?"

"I'm not going to force you, baby. If that's when you feel comfortable doing it, that's when we'll do it. I want it to be good for you. Special. But that just means we're going to have to have this wedding a lot sooner than anticipated because I can't wait that long to have you." He reached down and grabbed my ass, picking me up. He kissed me sloppily, but it was strong and passionate and it felt right. It was Edward. He led us to the bed and laid me down before climbing over me. "Believe me, babe. With all the fooling around we're gonna be doing, you're not gonna want to wait that long either."


	4. Chapter 4

When I woke up the next morning, I felt like I was still in a haze. I turned onto my side only to come face to face with Edward. I just stared at him as I tried to wake up and process the last 24 hours. He had a bit of 5 o'clock shadow and I very lightly reached out and started to rub his facial hair along his jawline. Damn, he had a nice jaw. Was there anything not handsome about this man? I mean come on. This was ridiculous. He had a fade haircut and I liked how short it was on the side and longer on top. He just looked so rugged and handsome, but I still felt this inner battle within myself. Even though he was a mob leader who most likely killed people in his spare time and took me away from my home, he had been nothing but nice to me since I'd been here. Thinking of this, I took my hand off his cheek and glanced down at the massive ring he had bought me last night. It was so stunning that it honestly took my breath away. I couldn't believe he was so willing to buy me that without a blink of his eye; never in my life had I ever been given something as expensive as this. I sighed and looked back at Edward sleeping peacefully beside me. My mind was constantly going back and forth between worry and contentment. It was continually between how crazy it was to be in this beautiful, amazing house with all of these wonderful things surrounding me to extreme worry about marrying this man soon. I closed my eyes and tried to breath deeply and evenly. I was so tired of worrying. I just needed to stay in the moment and relax or I was for sure going to have a panic attack. I was running my hands through Edward's hair when he began to stir.

He sighed and opened his eyes, grabbing my waist with his hands. "Hey, pretty girl."

I smiled, "Hey."

He reached his hand up and put his thumb where my eyebrows met. "What are you thinking so hard about this early in the morning?"

"You."

"Yeah? You thinking about your super fine, ripped husband-to-be?" he asked me, smirking.

"Well, yes. But more along the lines of what me and my super fine husband-to-be are doing today."

Edward sat up and pecked my lips. "Ahh. Good question, love." He got out of bed and grabbed his phone, checking his messages. I sat up against the pillows and looked down and realized I was wearing one of Edward's shirts that said "Harvard Football" on it. Harvard, huh? I made a mental note to ask him about that later. It came down to my thighs, completely swallowing me. I had on a pair of his boxers as well because we realized last night that I hadn't packed anything with me after the rush of everything that went down at Ben's house. I glanced back at Edward and he was staring at me with a hooded expression on his face.

"What? Do I have something on me?" I touched my face and didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. I grabbed my hair, but it was just in a messy bun on the top of my head.

"You look so good in my clothes it's unreal."

That's what was making him look at me like that? "Oh, ew Edward. I look like crap. Look at my hair!"

He walked back to the bed and climbed on, crawling towards me and hovering his body over mine. "You're fucking adorable, baby." With that, he gave me the most toe-curling kiss I'd ever experienced. It was like nothing I had ever felt before. My hands flew up to grab his face and take some kind of anchor in this huge emotion I felt overcome my body. He broke apart from me, breathing hard and leaning his forehead against mine.

"It's insane how good you feel." His eyes were locked on mine as we both tried to catch our breath. I felt my face blush very quickly and was so embarrassed that I covered my hands with my face.

Edward laughed and pulled my hands away. "How about" He kissed my nose. "we" My forehead. "go eat" Pulling back, he pecked my lips quickly. "and we'll figure out the rest of our day together. Sound good?" I nodded and gave him a shy smile.

He stared at me for a beat and kissed me hard again one more time before getting off the bed and going into the bathroom. "So damn cute, little lamb. So damn cute."

I laughed and got up. What the hell was I going to wear?

Since I had no clothes of my own at Edward's, he let me borrow a pair of his "sister's" jeans that she had left at his house. I looked at him skeptically, but he swore to me that they were hers and if I didn't believe him I could call her myself. I'm not sure how much I believed him, but I sucked it up and put them on. Edward let me borrow another one of his shirts that was bigger on me, but it looked cute on me and it was super comfy. I let my hair down and let it flow with the natural curls that the bun made all night. Edward leant me a pair of, yet again, "his sister's" sandals and I was ready to go. He was dressed in dark jeans and a crewneck sweatshirt. He had on a pair of really nice Nike Frees that looked very expensive.

"Ready to go?" He asked me and I nodded.

We made our way out his front door and I realized how many people were outside guarding his house. It was like he had a mini-army. Edward saw me staring and said, "Don't freak out. They're just here to protect us." I swallowed thickly and nodded. Edward must have a lot of enemies. It made my stomach turn. He slung his arm around me and it made me realize that I almost forgot how freaking tall he was. I wrapped my arms around his waist because for one, it was just out of habit and two, I needed something stable after seeing how many people were guarding his house. It was a lot to take in. He leaned down and kissed my forehead. "I can feel you shaking, baby. Nothing's going to happen to you when you're with me. I promise. You got that?" I nodded against his chest as he steered us into the direction of a very, very sleek car. Holy shit. He grabbed his keys from his back pocket and unlocked the door. It was an all-black Bugatti Veyron. This car had to have cost him over a million dollars. We got in and Edward turned the car on and put on his black Ray-Ban Wayfarers. He gave me a smile and hit the gas, "Let's go." I squealed as I fell back against the seat. This was going to be a wild ride.


	5. Chapter 5

Hi guys! Thanks for being so patient with me and this story! Since the last update, I've been really really busy with grad school and I just didn't have the time or energy to update, but I'm on Christmas break now so expect more in the next couple of weeks! Hope you like it!

Edward and I pulled up to a small diner on the side of a highway in the middle of nowhere. We must have been somewhere outside of Chicago because there was not a skyscraper in sight. We went in and sat down in a booth and ordered food.

"So Harvard, huh?" I asked.

He looked at me with a surprised look on my face. "What about it?"

"I wore a shirt last night that said 'Harvard Football'. Is that where you went to school?"

"Yeah. My dad made me get a college degree before I could join the family business. He never had the chance to go to college and that was something that was really important for all of his children. My degree is in international business."

"Why did you choose to go there of all places?" I was curious to know his answer.

"Because JFK went there. Duh." He looked at me with the most obvious look on his face; as if of course I should have connected that right then and there.

I was taking a sip of my orange juice when he said that and I snorted, surprised at his reasoning. He smirked at me.

"You all right there?"

"You're serious?"

"Baby. He's the most badass president ever and one of my idols. It was a no-brainer."

I just stared at him. I then thought of something and looked down at my hands, feeling sad all of the sudden.

"You know he wasn't a good husband then, right?" Surely if he idolized him that much, he knew about his unfaithfulness.

Edward reached over to me and grabbed my knee. "Hey. Look at me right now."

I glanced up at him, expecting the worst.

"I respect him because he was powerful and when he knew what he wanted, he took it." I met his eyes and he was staring at me intensely, trying to make his point. "You need to know two things about me: I'll never hit you and I'll never cheat on you. I can't promise that I'll always be the most gentle with you, or the most romantic, or that I won't have a bad attitude sometimes, but I'd never disrespect you in those ways. I get that you don't know me and I know you're scared because of that, but I'm only going to say it once. You don't have to worry about that. Okay?"

"Okay." I said softly. He grabbed my chin and placed a firm, strong kiss on my lips. The waitress arrived with the food and I didn't let go of his hand for the rest of the meal.

Edward and I spent the rest of the morning and mid-afternoon walking around the park getting to know one another. He told me about his parents, Carlisle and Esme, and their roles in the family organization. He idolized his dad growing up and it seemed that all he ever wanted was to follow in his footsteps and become the Don of the Cullen Mafia. It was a long time coming and it finally came through when his dad passed away four months ago, in a tragic fashion. I noticed that he quickly changed the subject after that. Clearly, it was still a touchy subject for him. He had two younger sisters, Rosalie, a nurse, and Alice, a fashion designer. Their husbands, Emmett and Jasper, were part of Edward's inner crew.

I told him about my parents: my father who was a police chief and my mom who was a homemaker my whole life. I had never been particularly close to either of my parents, but they were good people at their core. I had really been closer to Ben my whole life, but with his drug problems, we drifted apart after we both moved to Chicago. I didn't really mention anything about Ben to Edward; I didn't want to think about that night a couple of days ago. It was too fresh in my mind.

Edward got a call while we were walking around the lake and we had to go back to the house. As we were walking to the car, he grabbed my hand and interlaced his fingers with mine and yanked me closer to him. He leaned down and gave me a soft kiss on the forehead. I was surprised at these little moments of intimacy and beauty with Edward. The big, bad gangster had a softer side after all; although he would kill me if I voiced this out loud I'm sure.

As Edward was driving to the house, I looked over at him and really studied him. His profile was striking to say the least. He had his black raybans on and looking down his face, I noticed his crazy chiseled jaw line. As he adjusted his arms to the steering wheel, I saw his sweatshirt lift up his arm a bit and I could see the beginnings of a tattoo sleeve on his right arm. He just exudes dominance and power, even while he was doing something simple like driving. It was actually mind-blowing when thinking about it. It blew my mind that it seemed like he was born to be a leader of a criminal organization. Thinking about that scared the shit out of me, but I couldn't think of him doing anything else in the world.

"Edward?"

He looked over his shoulder to change lanes and glanced over at me. "Yeah, babe?"

"Do you want kids?" I don't know where that came from, but it was the only thing I could think of as I was staring at him.

Edward whipped his head to look at me, raising one eyebrow and smirking at me. "Where in the world did that come from?"

"I'm just curious."

He continued to stare at me before putting his attention back on the road. "Yeah, I'd like some kids I think."

"Cool."

As we pulled into the driveway, he gave me an amused look. "You're something else, you know that pretty girl?"

"You keep calling me that. Pretty girl."

"Because it's true. You're my pretty, pretty girl." He leaned over and pecked my lips. "My little lamb." He whispered softly under his breath, getting ready to go back in for another kiss before someone screamed from the inside of the house. "Shit." He swore before jumping out of the car and coming over to my side and grabbing me with him. We ran into the house and found a scene in the living room. Emmett sat on the couch with blood pouring down his face and bruises covering his arms, grimacing as a lady, who I assumed was Rosalie based on the scrubs, was treating his wounds. Jasper was comforting a petite girl who was crying into his shoulder.

"Alice, I really need you to not freak out right now." Rosalie looked like she was barely keeping it together as it was and a hysterical Alice was not helping.

"But Rose they can't do that to him! I hate this so much!" She wailed into Jasper's chest.

"Who. The fuck. Did this?" Edward took a step forward, menacing and rigid. I had only seen this side of him once and that was when I told him about my date I was supposed to have the night we met.

"We were ambushed coming out of the restauraunt, Ed. Three against seven. The fucking pathetic ass Volturi leeches focused on Emmett. There was nothing any of us could do to help him." Jasper said.

They all turned to Edward for the plan and in turn, that led to them looking at me. I had already pleasantly met Edward and Jasper at Ben's house, but I wasn't sure if Alice and Rosalie knew who I was.

Rosalie's eyes bored into mine and I immediately tensed up. "So this is her, then?"

I didn't know what to do and Edward motioned me to come to him. He grabbed my hand in his. "This is her."

Rosalie stood up from where she was sitting on the coffee table, walked over to Alice, who grabbed her hand, and they made their way to me. I had no idea what to do or what to expect. I held my breath as they approached me.

"My brother is a dreadful cad for how he treated you." Rosalie said, earning a glare from Edward. She stuck her tongue out at him and Alice giggled. "But, he'll take care of you. You know that right? You're in really good hands with him." I smiled gratefully at Rose and Alice and looked up at Edward, who was smirking triumphantly. It took all of me not to roll my eyes. Pompous jerk.

"Welcome to the fambam." She smiled at me and Alice squealed before they both pulled me into a hug. It was really touching that they accepted me so willingly and it made me tear up. I missed being close to girls; I had only been with Edward since I met him and I really needed to a female friendship now more than ever.

I pulled away from them and wiped my eyes, giving them a watery smile. Rosalie went back to stitching up Emmett and Alice jumped into Jasper's arm, proclaiming "I have a new sister!"

Edward reached for me and gave my waist a squeeze before leaning down and whispering, "Don't cry, princess. This is a good thing."

I nodded my head and smiled at him, too choked up to say anything.

He turned his attention to the boys and his attitude changed very quickly. "What's the plan for getting these fuckers? Who the fuck told them you guys were going to be at the restaurant?"

Jasper spoke up. "We think it was someone within _Italia Benne_. They knew we were coming because we called ahead and someone must have leaked it to the Volturi."

Edward thought for a moment. "Okay Jas you take some men with you and go to _Italia_ and find out who the fucking rat is. Do it on the down low though. When you find out, I want you to invite him to the club tonight. I want him to think he's coming for a good time. We'll handle him there." He turned to Emmett. "You gonna be good to go for tonight?"

Emmett jumped up. "Boss, I'm good to go right fucking now. I'll take them on anytime, anywhere-"

He was interrupted by Rosalie, who, if looks could kill, would probably have murdered Emmett right then and there. "Sit. Down." She yanked on his arm, hitting one of his bruises.

"FUCK, Rose! Are you kidding me right now?!"

"If you'd sit your ass down and let me fix you, then maybe I wouldn't hurt you!" She fumed.

"Alright, easy there, tiger. Just be ready to go tonight at eight, Emmett. Is that good with you, Rose?" Edward asked.

"That should be fine. I don't think anything's broken. But you better not let him fight tonight, Edward! He needs to heal."

"Believe me, Rose. He won't be the one fighting tonight. I can assure you of that."

I looked at Edward. Holy shit, talk about mafia mode. He became a different person when he was in this role. No more soft kisses on the forehead. Alice interrupted my staring and yanked me up the stairs with her.

"Come on, Bella! Let's go find you something to wear for tonight!"

"Wait, we're going to this thing with them? Isn't that going to be dangerous?"

"No, silly! Didn't you hear Edward? It's on our turf and no one messes with us at our club. Plus, we'll know who the rat is so Edward is going to get rid of the threat!"

I stopped and gaped at Alice. How could someone talk about these things in such a lighthearted way? She was talking about them hurting another person as if this happened all the time! I audibly gulped. Alice turned to look at me, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"You okay?"

I barely responded before she was talking again.

"Hey, I think I have some jeans and sandals just like that!"

I stared at her dumbly when I heard a laugh coming from the foyer. I walked over to the top of the staircase and looked over it at Edward standing there with his hands in his pockets. He looked up at me and winked before turning and walking back to the living room.


	6. Chapter 6

"The thing about getting ready is you have to pick out the exact right outfit. It's like a religious experience." I was listening to Alice while she was fluttering around in a closet, trying to find an outfit for tonight. "It can truly make or break your reputation." She walked back into the bedroom, where I was sitting on a stool in front of a vanity mirror. "For you, it is especially important tonight. It's your coming out party into our world, per se. Everyone that is anybody is going to know tonight that you are Edward's bride-to-be. And that, my friend, is a very big deal."

"Because he's a big deal?" I asked.

Alice looked at me and smiled. "Right on the money, honey. He's not known to have steady girlfriends and he's notorious about not settling down. So imagine the look when people see you come in with that rock on your finger."

I blushed and look down at my hands, which were sweating. I rubbed them on my jeans, trying to calm my nerves.

"Don't be nervous! You have me so there is nothing to be worried about. I am going to make you look so good Edward won't be able to resist you for a second!" Alice squealed and clapped her hands together. "Let's start, shall we?"

* * *

Alice and I decided on a very cute white number. It was a white crop top that criss crossed above my chest and on the back. The high waisted skirt was also white that pleated out towards the bottom, hitting a couple of inches above my knees. We accessorized with gold jewelry, namely a large rose gold watch, and a very thin gold necklace. I also had on these really great, sparkly, gold high heels, and I mean high, to go with the dress. I was admiring myself in the mirror, looking at my loose beachy curls and my bronzy makeup, when I tuned back into what Alice was saying. She was a talker.

"...The great thing about it is that you have a great tan and the white will pop against your skin. God, don't you just love crop tops? They're so in right now and you're just so petite that you pull them off so well."

"This is a great outfit." I remarked, running my hands over the soft material.

"Why thank you, darling. We aim to please." She said while doing her own makeup in the mirror.

I gaped at her. "You made this?"

"Yeah! It's part of my new clothing line, Edward + Rosalie."

"Your new clothing line is named after your siblings?"

Alice looked at me and gave me a soft smile. "They're my favorite people in the world. It seemed right."

She went back to putting on mascara and I looked around the room. It was a spare room obviously, but it had clothes everywhere and shoes galore. I was confused. Why would Edward have all this in his house?

"It's where he keeps Alice's crap when she comes over. Like her makeshift room, I guess. He has about three zillion extra rooms in this house so he gave one to Alice." I turned my head and saw Rosalie coming out the bathroom, just out of the shower. She was headed to the massive closet, to find something to wear.

"Hey! I resent that. My clothes are not 'crap'." Alice huffed. "And, Ro, don't you think about touching the black Maddens! I'm wearing them tonight!"

I heard a muffled "yeah, yeah" come from the closet. Their family dynamic was so different from mine growing up and they all seemed so close knit. Ben's drug problem really put a wedge in between this and I hadn't seen anything like our old relationship until now. It was comforting that they accepted me so easily. I missed this feeling of companionship and joking around. Things were starting to turn around; I was starting to feel more comfortable and I was grateful for it.

I was interrupted by my thoughts when I heard Emmett's deep voice yell, "BABYDOLL! Let's fucking move!"

Rosalie didn't even flinch from getting ready, but yelled back "One sec, you brute!"

"You love it!" Emmett yelled back.

Rosalie sighed. "He's such a little shit head, I swear." She put down the curling iron and walked over to where Alice and I were sitting, waiting for her. "Are you bitches ready to have some fun?"

I stood back in the room, watching Rosalie and Alice head downstairs. I just needed a moment to breathe. This felt like the first day of the rest of my life. It was a lot to take in and I put my hand on my chest to try to calm my heartbeat down. I didn't know if I was prepared to step into this world. Rosalie turned around and noticed me.

"Hey." I looked up at her. "You look stunning and I know you can do this, okay?" Her words comforted me and I smiled at her. I heard Rosalie leave the room and head down the stairs. Well, it was now or never, I guess. It wasn't like I had that much of a choice after all. I walked down the catwalk and stopped at the top of the stairs. I saw Edward looking at Jasper and laughing at something he said before Alice jabbed him in the side.

"What the fuck, Al?" She pointed her head in my direction as I began to descend the stairs. I watched as Edward noticed me. He locked eyes with me the entire way down. It was like a scene from a high school movie. I got to the bottom steps and Edward turned to Alice, Rose, Emmett, and Jasper.

"You guys go ahead and head to the club. We'll follow you in the Bugatti." They all left the house, catcalling and woo-hooing on the way out. Edward rolled his eyes and came closer to me. He was on the floor and I was still on the steps, just one step above him. It gave me a height boost, but he was still taller than me.

"Pretty girl. You look like an angel." He leaned down and gave me a deep kiss, grabbing me underneath my armpits and turned around, setting me on the floor of the foyer, all the while keeping a grasp on me. We finished the kiss and he leaned down to give me a hug. "I can feel your heart beating fast, baby. What's got you so nervous?"

"I just feel overwhelmed already and we haven't even made it out the door, ya know?" I tried to laugh it off, but it just came out strained and fake. I hated this worried, nervous, scared part of myself. I wish I was more brave and in this moment, I just felt weak.

Edward touched his forehead to mine and grabbed my face, locking eyes with me. "No matter what is going on, if you feel scared or anxious or uncomfortable, just grab my hand. I'll take care of it for you. Anything you need, just tell me and I'll get it for you, got it? I'm going to take care of you, Bella."

I could feel myself melting at his sweet words. "You promise?"

"Promise, princess."

"Okay." I swallowed.

"Alright. Let's go show all these motherfuckers who you belong to." He smirked at me, grabbing my hand and leading me to the car.

* * *

The club was energetic, to put it nicely. Lights everywhere, people thrashing on the dance floor, alcohol flowing, it was quite the sight. We arrived around 11:30, so it was in full swing by then. Edward walked us through a back door, grasping my hand in his the whole time. We went upstairs to a balcony marked "VIP only" and Edward led us over to a couch that said "Reserved for the owner". It was in the dark corner of the room, but it was laid out so we could see everyone, but you would have to approach the couch to really see us. It was a very private section. He led us to the area, where Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, and Alice already were. I gave Alice and Rose hugs and Edward greeted the boys. I sat down next to him. I leaned closer to Edward because it was so loud in the club. When I did, he immediately put his hand on my thigh and leaned in close to me to hear me.

"So, you own this club I'm assuming?"

Edward's lips touched my ear. "Yeah, sweetheart. Impressed?" He smirked, reaching for his glass.

I just shrugged my shoulders and Edward laughed out loud at my reaction.

"I have many clubs that I own throughout Chicago, but this one is my favorite. I'm thinking about renaming it _Bella_."

"Alright, casanova. Easy, now." He laughed and leaned down to peck me on the lips before he turned around to talk to the boys. I turned to talk to Alice and Rose, who pointed out some of the people in the VIP and how they were related to the organization. Alice was fuming about one of Jasper's ex-girlfriends who was there, Maria I think, when Rosalie interrupted and exclaimed, "Oh! There's Jacob!"

Jacob heard his name and headed to our table. He greeted everybody and Edward introduced me to him, noting that he was one of the chefs at _Italia Benne_. I was connecting the dots that everyone that worked at that restaurant knew at least a little about the Cullen family secret, some more than others. Jacob seemed to be well-liked and a trusted friend of the family. However, once Jacob was talking to all of us, I felt Edward's grip tighten on my leg. His mood seemed to turn sour almost instantly and I felt the air in the room shift. Something was wrong and I had no idea what to do about it. I glanced at Edward, grabbing his hand in mine. He looked down at me and gave me a tight smile, glancing at me once, but turning back to the conversation quickly, distracted. I saw Edward's eyes dart to the exits of the VIP section and I saw the guards close the doors and lock them. My stomach turned. Something bad was about to happen. Edward stood up from the table and the room immediately fell silent.

"Well, good evening everyone. I wanted to take this time right now to make two announcements. First, I'd like everyone to meet my fiance, Isabella Swan." He pulled me up beside him and I smiled shyly to the crowd and gave a small wave. "She is going to be a Cullen soon, so treat her with the same respect you would treat me. If I see that she has been mistreated even once, there will be grave consequences. Do I make myself clear?" I looked down, embarrassed. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Right, then. My next order of business concerns Jacob Black." At this point, Edward stepped out from behind the table and grabbed Jacob behind the shoulders, leading him to the center of the room.

"Jacob here is a trusted friend of my family, loyal employee at _Italia Benne_ , and a long time party favorite of the Cullen clan." Somebody from the crowd whooped in agreement and Jacob laughed, pointing his hand at the said person.

Edward smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. It was a sinister smile, the very one that I saw the first night I met him.

"Oh, God." I heard Rosalie gasp from beside me. I looked over at her. Her hand was covering her mouth.

"What? What is it?" I asked her.

"Jacob. He's the - " Rosalie didn't finish her statement before she was interrupted by Edward.

"Jacob Black is a rat." Still grabbing Jacob's shoulders from behind, Edward forced him down onto his knees, grasping him so hard that I heard Jacob's shoulder blades crack. He screamed in pain and I looked up to see his face go completely white. Edward walked around him to face him, crouching down to become face-to-face to Jacob, who was gingerly holding his shoulders, crying in pain. Edward got inches away from Jacob's face.

"Let's see if we can make this rat squeal, shall we?"


	7. Chapter 7

Author's note: This is the chapter I'm most proud of since writing this story. The scene you're getting ready to read was hard to write, but necessary. I drew from one of my favorite movies in the Jacob-Edward scene so see if you can figure out which film I'm referencing! Thanks so much for ya'll's continued support.

* * *

Edward stood from his crouched position and called Jasper and Emmett over to him. I looked, mouth hanging open, and turned to see Alice and Rosalie's reactions. Both were sitting in perfect posture, watching the scene unfold. What. The. Actual. Fuck.

"Jacob. I have a problem." Edward began to circle around Jacob while Jasper and Emmett stood behind Jacob, making sure he didn't move from his position.

"You broke the most important thing you could in this family and organization: trust. You've been on my payroll a long time, Black. And you choose to betray my family like a motherfucking pussy."

"Ed-Edward, I -" Jacob barely got his words out before Edward interrupted him.

"Shut up." He glared menacingly at Jacob. "Why'd you do it? Just be honest with me, Jacob. I'm a nice guy." Edward smiled sinisterly.

"Edward, they said they would kill me if I didn't rat Emmett, Jazz, and the boys out! They knew you would go flying off the handle if anything happened to them."

"They being?"

"The fucking Volturi, man!"

Edward circled around and stopped in front of Jacob. "Ah, yes. Of course. The Volturi." He paused, raising his eyebrow. "They said they would kill you if you didn't snitch on us?"

This line of questioning was agonizingly slow and repetitive. I had a feeling that Edward was doing this on purpose. My stomach started to turn and I watched, terrified, as Edward continued to smirk at Jacob.

"Yes, Edward! I swear to you! I had no choice; you have to believe me." Jacob sobbed.

"Wrong answer. Take him to the table."

Jacob screamed, kicking and fighting as Emmett and Jasper grabbed him and cleared off a table in the center of the room. Cups, liquor, and drugs went flying as they slammed his body, face up, in the center of the hard, metal table.

Edward strolled over, hands in his pockets.

"You see, Jacob, here's the thing. I don't fucking believe you. So why don't you tell me exactly why the Volturi jumped my men outside of _Italia Benne_?"

Hearing this, Emmett growled and slammed Jacob's broken shoulder into the table farther, causing Jacob to scream in pain. I looked over at Rose during this and she had a small smile on her face, watching Emmett torture Jacob. I couldn't comprehend how she would find any joy in this. This, this was sick. This was absolute cruelty. Why not just put a bullet in his head and be done with it? They didn't have to do this sadistic torture!

Jacob was choking on the blood in his mouth, but spit it out and said, "They-they offered me money, Edward, okay? A lot of money." I watched as Jacob closed his eyes, defeated.

"Ah, so now we come to the truth. That you're a greedy motherfucker who betrayed the people who brought you in from the streets for a couple of bucks." Edward paused a beat and stared at him. "Can't even open your eyes and face me like a man. Fucking coward."

Edward shook his head and sighed. "Such a disappointment." He looked at Jasper and Emmett. "Tie him down boys." Jacob started to scream for help and thrashed around as Jasper, Emmett, and a couple of other men grabbed Jacob from every limb and tied him to the table with ropes. After they finished, they ripped Jacob's shirt down the middle, exposing his chest and stomach.

Edward snapped his fingers. "Tony."

A man stepped from the shadows and handed Edward a metal bucket.

"Jacob, did you know I love science? Always have. Ever since I was a little boy; I used to even win contests as a kid. Remember that, Rose?" He glanced at Rose, still sitting beside me on the couch.

"The best in the 8th grade." She smirked at him.

Edward smiled and his eyes drifted from Rose to me. He locked eyes with me for what felt like forever, but was probably only a few seconds. He turned his attention back to Jacob and Alice reached over and grabbed my hand. I turned to look at her and she was smiling brightly at me. As if we were out having a picnic in the park.

"I learned a lot in science class. Something really fascinating I learned is what would happen if a rat was trapped and heat was applied to whatever object was trapping him."

At this point, Jacob was thrashing his head back and forth, back and forth. I think he was trying to knock himself out, anything to get away from what was inevitably going to happen to him.

"Now, now, Jacob, none of that! We want you to be conscious for this little experiment we're trying out!" Edward grabbed Jacob's chin, hard.

"Aren't you excited? We got to experiment a rat with a rat! It's very symbolic, no?" Jacob just stared at Edward, eyes wide with fear.

"Oh, come on. Not even a chuckle? I thought it was pretty good. You can't not laugh at the irony of this." Emmett and Jasper snickered.

Edward stepped back, dropping the rat on Jacob's stomach and putting the bucket over it. Jasper held the bucket in place with a black leather glove.

The man from before, Tony, stepped forward and handed Edward a blow torch.

"I'll let you in on a little secret about the outcome, Jacob. What happens is that the rat will feel the heat from the blowtorch warming up the bucket, panic, and get quiet. When that happens, it has nowhere to go but down. Isn't that just so fucking interesting?" Edward stepped closer to Jacob's face.

"Now, I've never tried this out before, but I think our results will remarkably mirror what I've read. Wouldn't you agree?" He looked at Jacob. "No? No answer? Well, look boys, the rat is already getting quiet!" People around the room chuckled.

The next events felt like they were happening in slow motion. Edward pulled back and started the blow torch, placing it on the bucket. I closed my eyes and heard the rat squealing and scurrying inside the bucket. Jacob was crying, screaming, still thrashing on the table. It was only a few seconds later when it became dead silent in the room. I opened my eyes to see Jacob's eyes widen and his mouth opened into a perfect "o". If I thought before was bad, Jacob was full on screaming his lungs out at this point and that's when I felt the bile rise in my throat. I jumped up from the couch and headed to the one door not locked or guarded. It was right beside where we were sitting and when I ran through it, I realized it was a private office. I ran to the nearest door and found a bathroom and subsequently began to throw up.

* * *

I was barely done wiping the vomit from my mouth when I heard a loud banging on the door. I forgot I had locked it when I was in my pursuit to a toilet.

"Bella. Open the door up right fucking now." It was him. My stomach started to turn even more and I looked for some type of way to escape, but there was literally nothing. No other door, no windows. I was trapped and he was coming for me.

"Baby. If you don't open up this door in the next five seconds, I'm breaking it down. I'm not fucking kidding, Isabella." There was no way I was letting him into this bathroom willingly. He was just going to have to break the door down then. He began to count and I shakily pushed myself up from the floor into the shower, where I sat there with my legs drawn up and my arms crossed in front of them. I had to focus on my breathing or else I was going to have a panic attack.

"..2,...1." My head was resting on my knees, so I didn't see him, but I heard Edward bust the door down and move towards me.

"Bella. I need you to stand up right now." I looked up at him and he was staring at me, holding his hand down to help lift me up.

I couldn't hold it back anymore and the tears started to flow. "Ed-Edward, you just tortured that guy. A-and he was screaming and crying and asking for help and no one helped him! No one helped him while you-you just murdered him. How could -" At this point, I was full on sobbing and completely incoherent.

"Okay, enough." I continued to sob. "Baby. Enough." He grabbed me from beneath my armpits and lifted me out of the shower and carried me into the office.

I started thrashing in his arms and trying to push him off me. "I don't want to go with you! You're fucking sadistic and cruel and-"

Edward kept his hold on me and slammed me into the wall. "Nope. No. We're not doing this right now. Bella, look at me." He grabbed my chin hard and forced me to stop moving my head back and forth. "Look at me, Bella." I squeezed my eyes shut and tears slowly fell down my cheeks. "I'm not going to ask you again, sweetheart." He grasped my face even harder and I gasped in pain, looking up at him.

"You need to dry your fucking tears up right at this second and get your head together. I am the fucking leader of the Cullen Crime Family and I'm not going to have a wife that cries at the smallest sight of blood." I opened my mouth to protest (it was a lot more than just fucking blood!), but he interrupted me.

"I'm going to step out for five minutes and let you pull yourself together. When I come back in, you better have stopped this little meltdown of yours. I don't want to see a tear on your face. We're going to walk back out in the room together. You're going to smile and wave goodbye and we're going to go back to the house and you can scream and cry at me all you want to there. But not a second before we get in the car. Do you understand me?"

I closed my eyes shut and a couple of tears continued to fall down my cheeks. Edward reached up and wiped them away softly with his thumbs, slowly caressing my face.

"Isabella." I opened my eyes and stared into his emerald ones. "Is that clear?"

I nodded dejectedly. Edward grabbed my chin and kissed the corner of my mouth.

"Good girl."

He let me go and I headed to the bathroom to fix my makeup in any way I possibly could. Edward smacked my ass on his way out.

"Five minutes, Bell." He spoke over his shoulder while opening up the door back into the club.


	8. Chapter 8

I splashed water on my face, trying to calm myself down before I walked out to rejoin Edward. Things had turned for the worse very quickly and I felt like I had whiplash. One minute I was coming to grips with Edward, feeling semi-okay with my situation and the next thing I know I'm watching my fiancée mutilate a man. How could someone I was so attracted to do something so ugly and vicious? If I thought I was confused before, it was nothing compared to how I felt now. I looked down at my hands and saw that they were shaking. I gripped the side of the sink until my knuckles turned white, trying to will myself to chill the fuck out. I took a breath, fixed my lipstick, straightened my dress, and walked back out into the club.

My head was down when I opened the door and stepped into the private section of the club we were sitting at. I took a deep breath. "Showtime," I thought to myself and looked up, the door clicking in place behind me. The first person I saw was Edward, laughing at something Emmett was telling him. Emmett glanced over and saw me, nudging Edward in the arm to alert him of my presence. Edward whipped his head in my direction, eyes boring into mine as I stood there, frozen in place, my breath stopped. Edward's face was expressionless as he placed his hands in his pockets and walked over to me. I stayed frozen, never breaking eye contact as he stopped in front of me. I had to tilt my head up to look at him; Edward had a solid nine inches on me, making him seem all the more intimidating and towering as I craned my neck up to look at him. He sighed and brushed his fingers against my arm, his other hand wrapping gently around my waist.

"You feeling better?"

I gave a soft nod, honestly trying not to vomit again. I could still smell the blood in the room. I tried to look around Edward to see if there was still evidence of Jacob in the room, but Edward was so tall and just _big_ that I couldn't see around him to look at the main room of the club.

I could feel Edward staring at me, watching my movements. "What is it, Bella?"

"D-did they move him? Like clean him up and everything?"

Edward's forehead creased. "Who? Jacob?"

"Yeah." I said, softly.

Edward moved closer to me, effectively holding me against the door. He leaned down closer, nodding his head slightly and running his nose across my face. I trembled, not because I was enjoying it, but I kept having flash backs of him holding the blow torch. Combined with the coppery smell of the blood and Edward being so close to me, I felt like passing out was in my eminent future.

Edward leaned down to my ear and whispered, "Sweetheart, I'm going to take care of you. Okay? I know you're pissed at me, but we're going to get through this." He pulled back and stared into my eyes. "You understand me?"

I lifted my eyes up to meet his. "I understand."

I would say anything he wanted me to if I could just get the fuck out of this place. He stared at me for a beat before leaning down and kissing me squarely on the mouth. It wasn't anything too strong; just a peck, but he held it for longer than necessary. It felt like he was trying to assert his dominance with me while at the same time trying to comfort me? Either way I hated the whole thing. I didn't want to squirm and risk pissing him off, but every second I grew more and more uncomfortable. He pulled back from me and pecked me a couple of more times on the mouth before grabbing my hand and leading me towards the group.

Edward talked to Emmett and Jasper for a few seconds before he was leading me out of our private section and heading to the main floor. Alice and Rosalie sympathetically rubbed my arm and back before we left and I gave them a grateful smile. At least someone in this family was decent.

Before we entered into the mass of people milling around waiting to talk to Edward, he leaned down to me.

"Remember what I told you. Smile. There's a lot of people that want to see you." He squeezed my hand and we walked into the main floor of the club.

There were people _everywhere_. How did I not know there were this many people in here before? Edward pulled me through as I hid behind his back, grabbing onto his jacket as he made his way to the exit. I could see the red light right ahead of me and Edward grabbed for the door, pushing it open. We didn't say anything to each other as he led me down the alley towards the car, although he was still clutching my hand. We turned a corner and I saw the car in my eyesight, so grateful that it was so close and I could finally be away from this god forsaken club.

However, as we got closer to the car, I saw an older man leaning against it, smoking a cigarette. I thought he was alone, but I looked around and saw four other men standing off to the side of the parking lot, watching us. I had a bad, bad feeling about this. I looked up at Edward worriedly and he shook his head at me in the most minute way, squeezing my hand tightly.

"You got a lot of fucking nerve coming around my part of town, Aro."

The man, Aro, put out his cigarette and smiled at Edward, leaning off of the car and walking toward us. "Well, what can I say, Edward? I heard you were engaged and I had to see it for myself."

I gulped audibly, grabbing Edward's bicep with my other hand. This guy was getting creepier by the second. He eyed me up and down and whistled in approval.

"Damn, Edward. Who would have thought that Chicago's biggest playboy would land such a delicate, shy little thing? She doesn't look a day over twenty. Have you popped her cherry yet, Cullen?"

At this, I felt Edward stiffen beside me and I sucked in a breath through my teeth. I heard laughter and turned to see Aro's guys on the other side of the parking lot, jeering and whooping. One of the guys was looking at me dead on and rubbing his...area. I felt sick to my stomach and looked away, turning my body away from Aro and laying my head on Edward's arm, closing my eyes. I didn't care if this made me look weak or if I wasn't being the "strong" wife Edward wanted me to be, but I couldn't look at Aro's creepy smile or his cronies' lewd gestures anymore.

"Aw, sweetheart. Don't be like that. We were just kidding. I think we scared her, boys." At this, the guys cheered and I kept my eyes squeezed shut, trying to drown out his voice.

"Boy, you sure do have a shy one, don't you Edward?" Aro chuckled. "I like that blush. I wonder where else it spreads too - "

Edward lunged forward, still holding my hand. "Aro, I'm only going to say this once. You say one more fucking thing about my girl and I'll personally rip you apart myself. You got that motherfucker?"

It was quiet for a minute. I was still facing away from Edward and Aro, my arm still clutched onto Edward's bicep and my head still resting on his arm, facing the club. I opened my eyes to try to concentrate and sense if anything was happening. I looked up from the ground and saw the entire crew: Emmett, Rose, Alice, Jasper, and the rest of Edward's guards standing maybe 100 yards behind us in the alley beside the club, just waiting and listening to the situation. I was confused on why they were standing so far away from us.

I heard Aro pipe up. "I'm afraid I've lost sight of why I came in the first place, Cullen. It's really a shame about Emmett. I mean, he didn't have a great face to begin with, but with that beating, there's really no hope for him now."

I looked over at Emmett. He was livid and nearly jumped out of the shadows in the alley before Rosalie pulled him back towards her and whispered in his ear, calming him down.

"What the fuck is your point, Aro?" Edward growled.

"Judging from the screams coming out of your club earlier, I see that you've terminated your relationship with Jacob Black." Aro paused. "You should know that Jacob is not the last spy you'll see within your organization. I'd watch your back if I was you because it's not the last you've seen of me. I'm going to be everywhere. In your club, in your restaurants, maybe even in your bedroom with your broad."

I cringed. I'd rather go to jail than have him touch me.

I heard Edward laugh. "Well, if you keep sending me pussies like Jacob, I'm pretty sure I'll be okay. Now get the fuck out of my way."

Edward tugged on my arm and pulled me to him, leading me into the direction of the car. I turned and walked with him. I saw Aro in the corner of my eye and I looked over at him. He was walking towards his crew on the other side of the parking lot and was staring at me. It freaked me out and I shivered. He winked and turned around, disappearing into the dark.

We reached the car and I looked behind me to see the rest of the gang walking towards us. Edward opened the SUV's door and grabbed my waist, placing me in the backseat. He was leaning in the doorway, reaching over to grab the seat belt when he turned and yelled to the group.

"Emmett! Drive our fucking car; I have to talk to Bella." Emmett nodded and jogged over to the SUV. Edward turned back into me, attempting to buckle my seat belt for me.

"Edward, I can buckle myself up." I said, exasperated.

"Shut the fuck up." He growled at me, slamming it in place and tightening it so far on me that I gasped for breath. He slammed the door and walked over to the other side of the car, wrenching the door open and jumping in. Okay. So, Edward was really pissed. I couldn't tell if it was at me or Aro. Emmett hopped in the car, Rosalie right beside him, jumping in the passenger seat and he peeled out of the parking lot, driving so fast that I had to hold onto the seat in front of me for fear of sliding all over the car. Although I didn't' think that was happening since Edward literally had me strapped into the car so tightly that I could hardly breathe. We finally made it to the Interstate and I relaxed a bit. I saw the partition raise up between us and Rosalie and Emmett, giving us some privacy. I avoided looking at Edward at all costs.

"You shouldn't have grabbed on to me like that."

Just like that, I was pissed. Like really fucking pissed. I whipped my head to look at Edward, who just sat there, reading something from his phone. The motherfucker didn't even have the gall to look at me.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." I said, livid.

Edward continued looking at his phone. "It made me look like I have a weakness, Isabella." He sighed and glanced up at me. "You were pretty much standing there, shaking like a leaf and it only made you more of a target to Aro. It doesn't reflect well on me."

If I was the violent type, I would have smacked the shit out of him. I turned my entire body towards him, wanting to make my next point very clear to him.

"Okay, Edward, up until a couple of days ago, the worst thing I had ever seen was my brother getting socked in the face at homecoming. And then you're going to just throw me into this without any warning and expect me to just take it like a champ?! Sorry that I didn't meet your fucking standards."

Edward stared at me, breathing heavily through his nose.

"If you don't like how I handled myself, find some other fucking girl to marry you. I'm sure there are plenty you wouldn't have to force." I snapped. I knew it was a low blow, but I was fucking done with him.

Edward's eyes flashed and he gripped his phone tightly. It was just luck that as soon as I said that, we were pulling up to the front of the house. Before he had a chance to react, I opened the door and jumped out, running towards the house. I opened the door and ran up the stairs, hoping to just get some peace and quiet away from Edward, but no such luck. I barely made it to the top of the stairs when I heard him bellowing from the foyer.

"ISABELLA! I'm not done talking to you! Get your ass down here!"

I heard him race up the stairs and I slammed the bedroom door, trying to lock it but my hands were shaking so bad I couldn't get it locked before he barreled through the door. I stumbled back and we made eye contact. He stood in the threshold of the door, staring at me with the darkest eyes I had ever seen. I froze, breathing loudly. I glanced at the bathroom door, trying to gauge how far away it was and if I could make it before he caught me. Before I had the chance to, Edward saw what I was trying to do and charged me. I tried to make a break for it, but I felt him grab my waist and pull me towards him. I started kicking and screaming, trying to make noise for someone to come help me, but it was no use. He slammed me against the wall and covered my mouth with his hands.

"Listen, princess. No one is coming to help you, you got that? My men do what I say and my family does what I say, so it's just me and you." He dropped his hand from my face and grabbed both of my hands in his, pushing them up above my head.

"I hate you." I hissed at him.

"I love you too, sweetheart." He smirked at me. "Are you going to be a good girl for me now or do I need to keep you restrained? I do love you in this position." His free hand wandered throughout my body, touching my breasts, my stomach, and finally cupping me...there. I sucked in a breath, not expecting it.

He leaned in close to me and laughed. I felt his hot breath on my ear and it made my stomach turn. "My little, virginal baby." I felt my face flame up from his mocking and in that moment, I could not hate him more.

"You're despicable, you know that? You killed someone in cold blood. You could have just shot him if you were that upset with him! But you're such a sadistic, ugly, disgusting person that you had to torture him! He didn't deserve that!"

Edward growled and slammed me into the wall again.

"When are you going to get it through your thick skull that NO ONE fucks with my people? He almost got Emmett beat within an inch of his fucking life and my sister almost lost her husband. So, yeah, I think he deserved it." He paused, staring so hard at me I felt like he was staring into my soul.

"I'd do it again, Bella. I don't show mercy to anyone. I didn't get a reputation of being ruthless for shooting people in the fucking head and wishing them well."

We stood there in silence, never once losing eye contact. I was breathing heavily and I had a massive headache from being slammed into a wall THREE times that night. I closed my eyes to stop the throbbing.

"And you know what, baby? That's child play compared to what I'd do to someone that tried to hurt you." Edward leaned closer to me. "Calm the fuck down and get some sleep."

He kissed me and the next thing I knew, I was alone in the room, still standing against the wall, holding my lips and wondering what the hell just happened.


	9. Chapter 9

When I woke up the next morning, I was by myself in Edward's huge bed. I sat up and looked out his wall of windows, the sun blinding me in the face. It was really early in the morning and I didn't get much sleep from the night before, tossing and turning all night. I was curious about where Edward was. I wanted to avoid him as much as possible after what went down last night. I put on some black leggings and an over sized t-shirt. I kept my hair down and looked around for something to cover it because it was looking pretty crazy. I settled for one of Edward's hats, a worn Chicago White Sox baseball cap and stuck it on my head. I pulled the brim down low over my face. I was going to keep as low a profile as possible and I didn't necessarily want to make eye contact with him. I figured if he gave me grief about the cap, I would just show him the bruises from slamming me against the wall and it would all be even.

I gently opened the door to his bedroom and peeked my head out, seeing no one in the hallway. I tip toed down the hallway and walked down the stairs, heading to the kitchen. I looked around but didn't see anyone, which was odd. Usually one of Edward's siblings or people in the organization were milling around the house, but there was no one. Better for me, I thought. I didn't want to particularly want to talk to anyone in the "family" at the moment. I entered the kitchen and opened the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water and taking a sip. I looked outside the kitchen window and saw some of Edward's guards milling about. They wore dark sunglasses and were pacing around the sides and perimeters of the house. I shuddered watching them. Edward's job seemed to become more and more dangerous the more I spent time with him. I glanced away from the windows, turning and steadying myself with my back against the counter when I noticed car keys sitting next to the fridge and my purse and Edward's sunglasses on the counter. I snatched the keys, grabbed my purse and Edward's sunglasses and walked into the garage. I was getting the hell out of here one way or another. No one was around and now was my opportunity. I figured out that the keys went with a very pink Mercedes with the word "ALI" on the license plate. Well, no surprises there who it belonged to. I hopped in, noticing that there were stacks of clothes all over the car, including boxes of them in the front seat. I opened the garage door with the button inside her car and slid Edward's sunglasses on, hoping that Edward's security team would think I was Alice and not bother me. Her windows were tinted enough that I felt like I could make a clean getaway.

I drove the car forward slowly out of the garage, heading towards the end of the driveway. Edward's men eyed the car, but didn't stop me as I sped forward to the road. When I turned on to the main street, I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. Holy fuck. I did it. I made the decision so quickly and I couldn't believe it worked. As I sped down the highway, I tried to figure out my next step. I hadn't thought this far in advance when I grabbed Alice's keys and jumped in her car. Luckily, I had been in Chicago long enough to know my way around and I sped the car up, heading to only place I knew in the city.

* * *

I got to Ben's house thirty minutes after escaping Edward's. I knew this was probably the first place Edward would come looking for me, so I had to keep it quick. I didn't have any money or anything on me, so I needed at least a little bit of help before I took off. I knew I couldn't stay in Chicago. Edward would tear the city apart trying to find me and I knew he would find me one way or the other. I thought about heading north and just keep going. I don't know where; I just knew I had to move fast.

I jumped out of the car, keeping it running as I ran into the house.

"Ben!" I yelled, running through the foyer and peeking upstairs to see where he was. I heard a muffled "yeah" from the living room so I jogged in there.

What I was met with was not what I was expecting. Everything was gone. All his furniture nowhere to be found. Ben was sitting in the middle of the room on an air mattress, used needles around him on the floor.

Ben glanced at me, his eyes lids heavy. "Heeeeyyyy Bella! How you been?"

"Ben, where's all your stuff?" I stepped closer to him, trying to not step on anything that could stick me.

"Oh, I, uh, I had to sell some of it. Bills to pay, am I right?" He gave me a crooked smile.

"Where's Evan?"

"Oh, yeah. Evan. He, um, lives with his mom now."

"Back in Washington?"

"Yeah, ya know, I just didn't feel right having him out here all by himself out here without his family. He needs his grandparents and his mom and so they just came and got him."

I stared at Ben, tears in my eyes. My little brother used to be so vibrant and full of life and now he was just this empty shell of a person, with no drive but to get drugs. That was his only goal. It was heartbreaking. I looked at Ben and his surroundings and knew he didn't have anything to help me.

"Goodbye, Ben." I turned and headed back to the car. I went to grab the front door when I looked out the window and saw a black SUV slamming on its brakes right beside Alice's car. Fuck. Edward was here. I turned and sprinted to Ben's back door and took off running in his back yard. Behind his house was a forest that led to another section of the neighborhood and hopefully I could lose them in there somehow. My heart was pounding in my chest and I didn't dare look behind me for fear of seeing any of the Cullen clan hot on my trail.

As I raced into the trees, I tried to keep my eye on where it cleared to the road. It was a bit of a length, so I tried to control my breathing and get through it as fast as I could before I found another house and asked someone for help. When the tree line finally broke, I saw a small, white house directly in my line of sight in front of me and I raced to it. I pounded on the door, screaming for help, but no one was answering the door. I heard a sound coming from the back of the house. I ran back there and saw an elderly man mowing his lawn and sprinted towards him, waving my arms back and forth. He stopped the machine and started walking to me.

"What's the matter, dear?"

"Please, please, you have to help me. My-" I was in the middle of my sentence when the man stopped dead in his tracks and then everything was in slow motion. I heard a loud sound coming from behind me and the next thing I knew, the man's eyes went dead and his forehead was bleeding from a bullet right between his eyes. A perfect shot. I gasped in shock, tears immediately flooding down my face.

I turned around and stared at him. He was standing a hundred feet away from me, clenching his gun at his side. It was just us standing there, staring each other down when two of his guys came running through the house, stopping quickly when they realized it was a tense moment.

One of them cleared his throat. "Um, boss. Do you need anything from us right now?"

Edward continued to stare at me for a beat before finally turning and cutting his eyes to them.

"Take him and put him in the trunk. We'll need to dispose of him tonight."

The two rushed over to the man and picked him up. I covered my mouth with my hand, trying to keep my sobs under control. He was just an innocent bystander to this deadly cat and mouse game Edward was playing. He died because of me. I couldn't stop the tears as they continued to flow down my face.

The men were hurriedly taking him to the car when Edward called out to them.

"Make sure nobody comes back here. I need a private moment with my fiancée. We'll be out shortly."

"Yes, sir." They both grunted and make their way out to the front of the house.

We stood there in silence. He sighed and walked toward me, shaking his head.

"I'm just curious. How far did you think you'd make it before I found you?"

I stayed quiet, watching Edward as he continued taking cold, calculated steps closer to me. My throat was dry and I couldn't make my brain say any words to answer his question.

"It's just really funny, you know, that you thought you could get away from me. Did you think I don't have a locator on Alice's car, Bella? Are you really that naïve?"

I slammed my head on the tree and closed my eyes, letting out an aggravated sigh. Of course he had a fucking tracker on Alice's car. She's in the fucking mob. Of course he would have the highest level of security on everyone in his damn family. I felt so defeated that it was crippling and my body slid down to the ground. I sat against the tree and pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, resting my head on my knees. I couldn't look at his smirking face any longer.

I heard him walking closer to me, before he squat down to my level.

"Look at me, Bella." He grabbed my hair and pulled my head up. He was so close to me that I could feel his breath on my face. His eyes bore into mine and he gave me a sinister smile.

"This is what happens when you don't listen to me. That old man was just having a perfectly normal day before you came in and forced me to kill an innocent person." I knew what he was doing. I knew that this was him manipulating me. I knew that, but I couldn't help but give in when thinking about it and the tears continued to flow down my face.

"Aw, sweetheart. Don't cry." He brought his hand that was holding the gun and started to slowly stroke my face with the gun, moving my hair out of my face. His other hand went to wipe the tears away. I could feel the rough pads of his thumbs stroking my cheek. "I'm sure he had a long, fulfilling life."

"Just shoot me." I whispered. Edward looked at me, surprised. "Just shoot me and get it over with."

"Now why would I want to do that?" Edward scoffed. "You're my little lamb. My pretty girl. I don't want to kill you. I need you."

"Why? Why do you need me, Edward?" I snapped. Edward's eyes flashed and he stood up, towering over me as he paced in front of me, placing his gun in the waistband of his pants. "There are literally millions of girls that I'm sure would love to be with you. Why do you need ME, Edward? I don't understand it."

"ISABELLA! Enough." He shouted at me. "I am trying to run a fucking empire here and I cannot do it without a wife."

"But, why-"

"Because you are it, Isabella! You are what I want. There is not another woman out there that I want or need in my life more than you and that is the bottom line. I cannot explain it to you any clearer than that!"

I stayed silent, looking at him. His chest was heaving and he wiped sweat from his forehead.

"Listen, I don't know how to explain it, but I have this pull to you that I can't make sense of. I just can't let you go. That is an impossibility for me at this moment." He looked at me, imploringly.

I sighed, staring at him. "The thing is Edward is that it's all about you. You're not taking into account anything I want. It's like I was left out of this whole equation and I'm just supposed to follow you blindly."

"Baby, I am taking you into account! You want to stay in school? Stay in school. You want to stay at home? Be at home. I bought you that huge fucking ring on your finger." He gestured at my engagement ring. "I would give you literally anything you ever wanted. You would want for nothing, Bella. I'd protect you over everyone and everything and all I ask is that you marry me."

He paused, shaking his head in frustration.

"God, Bella. You don't know how good you have it. I treat you with respect. I don't force myself on you and I've let you call the shots on the wedding and when you're ready to be with me. I don't pass you around to my men or beat the shit out of you. Would you rather me go off screwing other women? Because believe me, that's the kind of shit that any other mob leader would do to you. That's what Aro does to his wife, sweetheart. Sulpicia is treated like shit every day, Bella."

He stopped pacing and let out a breath, looking at his watch.

"We really have to leave now, babe." He looked at me warily. "Are you going to come willingly or do we need to do this the hard way?"

I stood up, shakily. "I'll go if you answer one question."

He eyed me hesitantly.

"Did you hurt my brother?"

Edward stepped back, surprised. "No. I imagine he's still laying on his air mattress, high out of his mind. When we went in there, he told us you had gone out the back without us even prompting him."

I wiped a tear from my eye, feeling betrayed. I wrapped my arms around myself, staring at my feet. My cheeks burned and I was too embarrassed to look at Edward.

"When I was walking through the living room to go look for you, he grabbed my arm and asked me if I could give him some cash since he gave up where you were."

I stared at Edward, shocked. Ben was gone. He wasn't even my brother anymore. I had no one. My parents were in Washington, thousands of miles away. Ben was my only sibling and even my nephew Evan who I was so close with was gone. The truth of this hit me like a force. I glanced up at Edward. He was staring at me with a pained look on his face.

"I'm sorry, baby."

The only person I had was Edward, who was ready to take me in with no questions asked. Just because he wanted me, he said. He was the only person that wanted me. I was never close to my parents. I didn't have Ben anymore. Evan was gone.

I took a step forward to Edward. He stayed with his hand held out, waiting for me.

"You have to give me some space, Edward." I looked at him, pleadingly.

"I will, baby. I will." Edward said softly.

I stared at his outstretched arm. His large hand was held out to me. So I took it.


	10. Chapter 10

I sat there quietly in the car as we drove down the road. Edward was sitting beside me in the back seat, neither of us saying anything. The silence wasn't so much as awkward as it was necessary. I think Edward knew that he had to back off me for a while. At least, I hoped he did. I needed to be by myself for a while and just hopefully get to know Edward on a somewhat normal level. Slowly.

I was twisting my engagement ring around on my finger when Edward tapped me on my knee. It made me jump.

"Hey, you hungry? Wanna get food?"

"I'm okay."

He looked at me in doubt, not really believing me. "You sure? It's been a long morning."

"Yeah. Can we just go home?"

Edward smiled at me. "Yeah. We can go home."

I wasn't sure why Edward was smiling until I realized that I called his house "home". It was a slip of the tongue; I didn't even think about it when I said it. That was what scared me.

We didn't say much after that. I was lost in thought looking out the window of the car. The few times I glanced at Edward he was either on his phone answering e-mails or texts. He was distracted by answering a call from someone when I looked over and studied him. His face was in a scowl, intently listening to whatever the person on the other end was saying. Edward was a man of few words – not with me particularly, but with everyone else it seemed like. He only said something once and when he did, everyone took notice. His power was really something to behold. He had amassed quite a lot of it for only being 34.

"What the fuck is his problem? If he's going to act like a bitch, he's going to be treated like one." Edward huffed on the phone.

He ran his hands through his hair, shaking his head. His hair never looked neat and in place but it worked for him. He had the mad scientist thing going for him. It was bronze and soft and just looked amazing. He had a five o'clock shadow, giving him a scruffy look. Edward was wearing a black suit that was tailored almost to the t. He had his collar open and I could see a small gathering of chest hair. I looked down at myself and felt silly. I had forgotten I just threw on leggings and a big t-shirt with all the commotion of that morning. Way underdressed surrounded by all these men in suits.

"Handle it. I don't want to hear one more goddamn thing about this. You understand me?" Edward snapped his phone shut.

I blinked, breaking me out of my trance of staring at Edward. He didn't say anything, but I could feel the anger coming off him in waves.

"Is everything okay?" I said quietly, not sure if he wanted to talk about it.

Edward turned to me and gave me a tight smile. "I hire what I think are "men" and what I end up getting are a bunch of pussies. Fucking idiots, the lot of them." Edward paused and stared at me for a beat.

"Nice hat, kid." He reached over and playfully pulled down on the brim of the White Sox cap I was wearing.

I blushed. "Oh, yeah. Sorry. It was the first thing I saw to cover my hair this morning. It looks like a mess."

"Don't ever apologize about wearing my clothes. You look way better in them than I ever will, pretty girl." Edward winked at me and squeezed my thigh before turning back to his phone.

Edward had a lot of pet names for me, but for some reason that one always made my stomach do flip-flops. He said it so effortlessly and casually, but it always struck a chord with me. The thing about Edward was that he was as charming as he was handsome, both things that never escaped my attention, even when we were at odds with one another. And I'll be damned if I wasn't attracted to him even in those times. What the fuck was that about? Nothing was making sense anymore.

We eventually came to a stop in front of the house and when I walked through the front door, the first person I saw was Alice. And she did not look happy. I heard Edward shut the door behind me.

"Did you find it? Is it okay? Nothing damaged?" Even though I was standing in front of Edward, Alice was directing her questions at him.

Edward walked up beside me. "Al, it's fine. Tony is driving your car back right now."

I closed my eyes, cursing myself. Her fucking car. I completely forgot about it.

"Alice, I'm so sorry." I felt horrible.

She whipped her head around to me. "Save it." She went over to gather her stuff up from the couch in the living room.

"You know, I have been nothing but nice to you since you've been here. I let you wear my clothes, for crying out loud!" She stomped by me, heading for the door. "And you go and STEAL my car?"

"I feel terrible, Alice, really. I wasn't thinking."

"Did you know I spent a year customizing it to exactly what I wanted? Do you know how many shades of pink I went through to get that exact color? God, Bella, I could just kill you!" Alice flung the door open, getting ready to make a dramatic exit.

"Alice, wait."

She turned around quickly, her hand still on the doorknob. "WHAT, Bella? What could you possibly want right now?"

"Would you want to design my wedding dress?"

Alice's mouth dropped open and it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. I had a feeling that this may be the only thing to get back into her good graces and I was holding my breath for her reaction. I glanced at Edward and he was staring at me with a just as shocking expression on his face. The next thing I knew, Alice squealed and ran over to me, gathering me up in a huge hug. She was going a mile a minute and pulled back to talk to me.

"Are you serious? You're not just saying that to make me not mad at you? You really want me to do it?!" Alice was practically bursting from the seams.

"Ever since I wore your clothes the other night, you've always been in the back of my mind for it." This wasn't entirely true, but Alice didn't have to know that. "Of course, I think you're very talented and who better to do it than Edward's sister?" I looked over at Edward and he smirked at me.

"Is that so?" He asked me.

"Yes, it is so. You're family, right Alice? What's better than that?" I said earnestly.

"Nothing!" Alice said excitedly. "Oh my god, Bella, we have so much to talk about. This is going to take a few sessions to get everything right, but I will not let you down!" She reached for the door and headed outside. "I have to go, I have so much planning to do, but I'm going to call you tomorrow and we're going to meet up and talk all about it!" She was jumping up and down and skipped to her car before honking as he pulled away.

I giggled and closed the door behind her. I turned around and found myself face-to-face with a very smug Edward. I didn't say anything as I walked past him into the living room.

"Well, well, well. Has someone been thinking about her wedding dress?"

I sat down on the couch. "Edward, let's not get into this."

"Get into what, dear? I just want to know how long you've been fantasizing about our wedding." He smirked and plopped down next to me on the couch, putting his arm behind me.

I scooted away from him to put some distance between us. "Space, Edward." I reminded him.

He motioned for me to continue.

"I just want Alice to like me. For some reason, when she was ranting, that was the first thing that popped into my head and I just went with it." I paused, glaring at him. "That does NOT mean I've thought about it before."

He still had the look on his face, but didn't say anything, just holding up his hands defensively.

I stood up from the couch. "I think I'm going to lay down for a bit. I'm not feeling too great." I said, rubbing my arm.

Edward shot up from the couch, startled. "Are you okay? I knew we should have stopped somewhere so you could eat. You don't look good."

"No, no, Edward, I'm fine. Just tired. I woke up really early this morning."

He eyed me warily. "You're sure?"

"Positive. I just need to be by myself for a little bit." I could tell that stung a little, but Edward nodded in agreement.

"I understand. Get some rest." He walked over to me and kissed my forehead.

I knew he probably wanted an embrace of some sort, but I wasn't ready for that. I gave him a small smile and headed upstairs.

I went to Edward's room because it was the only one I was familiar with. I needed some fresh air. Edward's bedroom had a balcony that looked over the rest of his land and I headed out there, hoping to clear my head. He had a chair with a small table right next to it. It was clear he spent a lot of time there because there was an ash tray full of cigar butts. I snorted to myself. Of course he smoked cigars. That debonair son of a bitch. There was also a small chaise lounge with a throw on it, untouched. Looks like not many people came out here but Edward. It was September, so it felt perfect outside, although a bit chilly since the sun was setting. I took my shoes off and laid down on the chaise, not realizing how exhausted I was until I put the blanket over me. I just...didn't want to think anymore. I felt physically, emotionally, and mentally drained and all I could think about was how warm I felt under the fluffy blanket and the next thing I knew, I was drifting away.

* * *

When I came to, the first thing I smelled was smoke. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, turning a little bit on my side. My eyes still felt heavy and when I finally opened them, I saw Edward, sitting in the chair, smoking a cigar in one hand and holding a small glass in the other. I immediately moved back in the chaise, trying to get as far away from him as possible.

"Christ, Bella, don't do that." Edward sighed.

I remained quiet, not sure what he wanted me to say at this point. It was the weirdest feeling, waking up and seeing him sitting there. I rubbed my eyes again, feeling like I had been drugged. It was dark outside, but I had no clue how long I had slept for.

"What time is it?"

Edward looked at his watch. "2:45 a.m."

I nodded, pulling the blanket up under my chin and staring out at the sky. Edward lived far enough outside of Chicago that I could see the stars in the sky and tonight it was especially beautiful. I was trying to find the Big Dipper when I heard him speak.

"I'm fucking sorry, Bella. I don't know what the fuck I'm doing."

I glanced over at him, my eyebrows raised in surprise. Is that an apology from the almighty Edward Cullen, leader of the Chicago Mafia? He put his glass down and sat forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees, pulling wildly at his bronze hair, his other hand still loosely gripping his cigar.

"Ever since I saw you that night at your brother's place, I feel like I have no grip on what I'm doing. It's like my entire world has been turned upside down." He sighed and looked out at his land. I stayed silent, watching him.

"It's just that I've never wanted something more than I've wanted you. And just when I feel like you're opening up to me, I freak out on you and you go back into yourself and I'm scared that I've lost you forever. And fucking Aro showing up and freaking you out and all I could think about is what I would do if he ever touched you. So, I got mad and I just took my anger out on you because you were right there and you were an easy target."

I swallowed, still staring at him. He was torturing himself, pulling at his hair still and rubbing his stubble back and forth, back and forth. I could tell how bad he felt about making me feel bad.

"Don't think of me as a target, Edward." I said quietly.

He paused. "Yeah." It was just one word, but I knew he got it.

We were silent for a minute before I spoke up. I wrapped the blanket around my body tighter, trying to prepare myself to opening up to him.

"You scared me."

He looked at me, and it was the first time we made eye contact since he had been out here.

"Yeah."

"I just don't understand why it had to go down like that."

Edward let out a breath. "It's just - you were whisked away to get ready, then we were heading to the club and all I could think about was how good you looked in that dress, and how much I didn't want to freak you out about what was going to happen and I don't know. It was stupid, but I wanted some bliss before I had to go in there and do some damage."

I cringed. Edward noticed.

"Sorry, baby."

I thought before continuing.

"Watching what you did to Jacob was horrifying, but what hurt worse than that was how you acted when you saw how upset I was. You said you would take care of me and you didn't Edward. That's not taking care of someone. What you did to me was bullying. You bullied me and I'm supposed to be your fucking fiancée."

"I don't know what to say, Bella. I'm so fucking sorry; you have to understand that. I'm trying, but I don't exactly have the most experience in being gentle with girls."

"Yeah." I stared at him, trying to gauge how genuine he was being.

"And then you come into my life, and all I want is to be gentle with you because you're so shy and pretty and so good and I just fuck it up. I don't know how; all I know is how to be an asshole." He sighed. "I don't know, I just reverted back to that. I should have supported you through how you were feeling but I got scared when you were calling me cruel and sadistic and I just lost it."

"I am sorry about calling you those names. I didn't think about you trying to take up for Emmett."

He smiled wryly at me.

We sat there in silence for a while. I had a lot of thoughts rolling around in my head that I was dying to ask him. I wasn't sure where I should begin. This talk had been a long time coming. Edward hadn't opened up to me hardly at all since I had been with him and it felt like it had been a blur of continuous movement since he saw me at Ben's. I pulled the blanket down and rubbed at my arm, trying to think of what to say next when I heard Edward gasp. I turned to him, confused.

"Jesus, Bella, did I do that?" I looked and saw he was staring at my right arm, where a big, black bruise was beginning to appear. I didn't say anything, just uncomfortably nodded. Edward shot up from his chair and threw his glass at the ground, alcohol and glass going everywhere.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Edward yelled, turning his back to me and grasping the balcony with his hands, his whole body heaving. I sat there in shock, not knowing what to do. His hands were holding on the balcony so hard that they were turning white. After what felt like forever, he turned towards me. I sat there, still as a statue. We stared at each other.

He slowly walked towards me before sitting down beside me on the lounge.

"I will never, ever, touch you like that again, Bella." He looked at me with such intensity that it scared me. He cradled my arm in his hand, just staring at the bruise in disbelief. I felt like I had to say something.

"Edward, it's not the end of the world. It doesn't even hurt that much."

"I don't want you to think that will ever happen again. You hear me?" I nodded. "I care for you so much and I'm so fucking sorry, baby." He paused and looked down, ashamed. "I will not treat you how my father treated my mother. I won't do it. Our marriage is not going to be like theirs."

He looked at me with such sad eyes.

"I want you know that I will do anything you need me to do to make you feel safe with me. I understand about what you're saying about space, Bella, okay? I hear you. I'll do anything you need me to do, okay?"

I nodded, looking down and twisting my engagement ring around my finger. We sat there for a long time, not saying anything, just listening to the sounds of the night.


	11. Chapter 11

"I think you really want need to be confident in the fabric you're wearing because otherwise, what's the point? And we also need to talk about if you want a veil or not. Ooh, speaking of veils, what are you thinking for your hair?"

Alice had barely taken a breath since we sat down at the table to have lunch. One minute we're making small talk and the next she was pulling out a massive pink binder with hundreds of sketches of potential dress designs. This was all afternoon, her explaining traditional versus original, strapless versus halter, on and on it went.

"Now if you look back at page 78, we can see the comparisons between the silk and the tafetta. Personally, I'm more of a silk person myself..."

"Hey, Alice?"

She glanced up at me, finger still pointed to the 200th wedding dress we looked at that day.

"I know that I want lace, long sleeves, a veil, and my hair down. Anything other than that, you can use your imagination."

Alice's smile widened farther than I thought possible. "Oh my gosh, classic! You are going to be a vision! I'm going to sketch three designs and you can pick from them to choose your final!" She jumped up, hugging me before grabbing her stuff and rushing out the door.

"Alice!" I yelled to her.

She turned around, beaming at me.

"I want you to know how much I appreciate you doing all this for me."

"Anything for my future sister!" She winked and disappeared out the door.

I smiled at myself, shaking my head. Although this afternoon was incredibly lengthy and mind numbing at times, I really liked Alice. I never had a sister before and I was glad she was so open to me. I stood up, straightening my black skirt and white sweater before reaching into my purse to pay for the check. Edward had given me a debit card with "Isabella Marie Cullen" written on it and three black, no limit credit cards this morning. Why in the world he thought I would need all that is beyond me. I initially tried to refuse them when he handed them to me, but to no avail.

* * *

"Edward, this says Isabella Cullen on it." I couldn't stop staring at the debit card. It felt like I was in the twilight zone.

"That it does." He said, eyes still on the television we were watching in the living room.

I turned to him, staring. He eventually noticed me and muted the TV, staring right back at me.

"That's going to be your name soon and I wanted you on my account now." He reached into his back pocket.

"That reminds me. These are yours too." He handed me the three credit cards.

"Edwardddd." I groaned, putting my hands over my face. "What do I need all these for?!"

Edward smirked at me. "Emergencies."

I scowled at him, refusing to take them. He set them on the coffee table in front of us. He eyed me curiously.

"I don't know what the deal is with you and money or why it makes you so uncomfortable, but you really need to get used to the fact that you have a lot of it now."

"But it's not my money. I didn't earn it." I said quietly, looking down at my hands.

Edward raised his eyebrow at me. "Partners, Isabella. You and I. What's mine is yours, alright? Don't forget that."

He reached to hand me the cards on the coffee table; I was still hesitant to take them.

Edward sighed. "Either you take them and put them in your wallet now or I'll have Garrett forcibly put them in there and keep them there. The choice is yours."

I huffed in frustration. "Fine. Give me the damn cards." I held out my hand, snatching them from him.

* * *

Now, standing here in the restaurant, I sighed, waiting for my very shiny, new debit card to come back from the waiter. I glanced at my phone, looking for the time. 3:34 pm. I put my phone back in my purse and looked around the room, noticing four, yes four, separate guards standing next to the exits. Jesus, Edward was going overboard. It was just lunch for goodness' sake. With his sister! Garrett was the only one that came with me, as he drove me here. I didn't even notice the rest of the guys until just now.

The waiter interrupted my thoughts. "Thank you so much for your patronage, Mrs. Cullen. Please come back anytime." He smiled at me warmly.

"Oh, I'm not-" Before I could finish my sentence, he walked away. Mrs. Cullen; I shivered at the thought. What a bizarre feeling to be called that.

I walked out the front door of the restaurant to the sleek black car waiting for me. Garett opened the door for me and I stepped inside, putting my purse down next to me. Garrett jumped in the front seat, starting the car.

"Bella, Edward wants to see you at his office if that's okay."

I raised my eyebrows, surprised. "Um, yeah, that's fine." I was just planning on going home after lunch with Alice, but I was actually kind of curious to see where Edward worked. I didn't even know he had an office.

We were already in the city, so it wasn't a long drive to get to his building. As I stepped out of the car, I couldn't believe how far up this skyscraper went. I couldn't even crane my neck far enough back to see the top.

"This is where Edward works?" I asked Garrett, dumbfounded.

"One of the many places he gets work done." He smirked, ushering me into the lobby.

We walked to the elevators and Garrett reached to press the button to the top floor. I smiled to myself. The top floor. Naturally. We exited and immediately came face-to-face with a tall blonde sitting at a round table.

"Hi, Garrett." She said, cheerfully.

"Hey, Tanya. This is Bella."

I gave her a small wave with my left hand. "Hi."

Her eyes zeroed in on my finger, and then widened when she realized it was an engagement ring. I was confused at first, but when I realized, I blushed, pulling my hand down and behind my back.

"You can go ahead and go in. I'll be waiting for you by the car when you're done." Garrett turned and left, leaving me and Kate, who was still staring at me like I had two heads. As fun as it was to have her look at me like that, I decided to go ahead and quietly open the large doors that I assumed belonged to Edward's office. I stepped in softly and surveyed the large room. It was definitely a man's office, with masculine touches and neutral colors. At the center of it sat Edward, who was intently concentrating on whatever he was reading on his desk. His elbows were on his desk and he was holding both hands in his hair. His focus on his reading gave me time to observe him. Edward had on a black suit with a skinny tie, his hair was tousled from his hands grabbing at it, and I guess he had shaved that morning because his jawline was more prominent than ever. The most surprising thing about him today though was that he was wearing glasses. They were black, oval framed glasses and he looked unbelievably adorable with them on.

"Hi."

Edward jumped, looking up at me. "Bella! I didn't even hear you come in."

"You seem pretty concentrated. Anything interesting?"

"No, just some paperwork my lawyer wanted me to look at." He grabbed the papers and stuffed them into a manila envelope on his desk. "Please, have a seat."

I stepped forward to the two chairs in front of his desk, sitting down in the right one. Edward sat down in his chair and smiled at me, not realizing he had his glasses on still.

"I didn't know you wore glasses."

"Shit." He swore, grabbing them and yanking them off his face. "I don't regularly. Just when I'm reading a lot of stuff at one time. My optometrist says I strain my eyes when I do that."

I laughed, humored by this image.

Edward raised his eyebrows at me. "What's so funny?"

"I'm just thinking about the leader of the Chicago mafia having an optometrist."

He smiled wryly at me. "Even the leader of the mob has to get his eyes checked every once in the while." To this, I giggled more. "But if you tell anyone that you saw me with glasses on, I will deny it."

"Cross my heart and hope to die. It can be our secret."

Edward smiled at me. "Our secret."

We stared at each other for a beat. I didn't mean for that to come off as flirty, but I think both of us realized the mood in the air had changed. Edward cleared his throat.

"Well, if you're done making fun of me and my glasses," He winked at me, giving me butterflies in the pit of my stomach. "How was your lunch with Alice?"

"It went well. I told her what I wanted in a dress and she's going to sketch three designs for me to pick from. She's a talker."

"That she is." Edward stood up from his desk to pour himself a drink. "You want anything?"

"No thanks, I've never been a big drinker."

Edward walked back over to the desk, leaning on the front of it, facing me.

"So speaking of the wedding, how are you feeling about a date? Have you thought of anything yet?"

"Well, it's September now and my school starts in a week. I'm a little anxious about planning a wedding while I'm in graduate school."

Edward nodded. "You've never told me what you're going to school for."

"Oh, I, uh, want to be a teacher."

"Yeah? What grade?"

"I'm hoping kindergarten."

Edward was taking a sip of his scotch when he looked over the top of his glass at me. He swallowed the rest and set his glass down with a thud on the desk, never breaking eye contact with me.

"What?"

Edward smirked at me, shaking his head. "Just when I thought you couldn't get any cuter."

I blushed. "Edward, it's not cute. Being a kindergarten teacher is a very noble career."

He held his hands out defensively. "You're right. It's very noble. Shaping young minds and all that."

"Exactly!" I said, triumphantly.

He laughed. "Who would have thought I'd end up with a kindergarten teacher? Wait until the guys hear about this."

At this, I frowned. "I don't want them to make fun of me because I want to be a teacher."

"Sweetheart, they're not going to make fun of you. And if they do, I'll break their legs. So I wouldn't worry too much about it."

God, what a way to remember that your fiancée is a mob boss. Change of subject, please.

"So, I'm worried that with school, I'm going to be overwhelmed with all this wedding stuff."

"Honestly, Bella, I think my mom and Alice would be really into planning it for you if you want. You don't have to do it on your own."

"Really?! Do you think they would do it for me?" I squealed, hopeful.

Edward looked at me with a surprised face. "You want them to plan it for you?"

"All I want is to pick out my dress and make sure my family and friends are there, but other than that, I don't care what it looks like."

"Yeah, mom has always planned her own functions and events and I think she really likes to do that sort of stuff. Plus, you've met Alice. She's definitely down for anything like that."

I breathed a sigh of relief. I wouldn't tell Edward this, but I just didn't think I could do it. Nothing was going how I imagined it and it was breaking my heart that none of it felt right. I wanted to be as detached from the ceremony as possible. I'm glad Edward was starting to treat me decently, but I was far away from daydreaming about our dream wedding and I would rather Alice and Esme deal with it than me. I heard Edward clear his throat, taking me out of my thoughts.

"So the sooner the better is okay with you?"

"Oh, um. Sure, that's fine with me."

"Then it's settled. October 10th it is."

I paled. "Wait, this October? That's less than a month away. Can they do it that fast?"

"They will if I say they will."

"That's soon." I swallowed. "Really soon."

Edward eyed me warily. "Are you sure you're okay with that date? We can push it back if you want. I just want you to have my last name as soon as possible."

I softened at his words. "You can be sweet sometimes, you know."

"Don't let it get around, kid."

I laughed. "I think October 10th is as good as time as any."

Edward smiled at me. "Me too, pretty girl."

I don't think there will ever be a time when I don't blush at his pet names. "I guess I should get going then." I stood up, grabbing my purse.

"Oh, yeah, I'll walk you out." Edward put his hand on the small of my back as he led me to the elevator.

We were heading down the building when a thought occurred to me.

"Why do you have an office in this fancy of a building when you're a mafia leader?"

Edward learned closer to me, whispering in my ear. "Some of my money is legal, you know."

"Like what?"

"I own a lot of real estate in the city."

"Like the club?"

"Like the club." He smiled at me. The doors opened and he took my hand, leading me through the lobby. I saw Garrett outside, leaning against the car, waiting for me. As we approached the SUV, Edward opened the door for me. He had to pick me up by waist and lift me in because these SUVs were so damn huge. Plus, with my ankle booties, my balance was already shaky. I felt like a five year old, which made me blush.

"Thanks, Edward."

"You're welcome, Bella." He smirked at me, which made me blush even more.

Edward leaned over me to talk to Garrett, who was in the front seat. "You better watch your fucking speeding with her in the car, you understand me?

Garrett nodded, curtly. "Yes, sir."

I felt bad for Garrett. "Edward," I whispered, grabbing his arm. "Be nice."

"I am nice, baby." He smiled, looking at me, before turning back to Garrett. "Text me when you get to the house."

He leaned back, looking at me, getting ready to close the door.

"I'll see you later?" I asked.

"Yeah. I have some things I need to take care of tonight, but I'll be back sometime before midnight."

I rolled my eyes. "That's promising."

He smiled at me. "It's the best I can give you, princess." He went to close the door, but turned back at the last moment, reaching in and giving me a soft kiss on the forehead before shutting the door and tapping the car twice, letting Garrett know to leave. I watched him through the window as he walked back into the impossibly high skyscraper. My confusing, gentle mafia man.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Sorry for some typos in the last chapter y'all. I get so excited to post that I proofread fast and some things get caught in the mix. But, here's an EPOV! Hopefully I do it justice.

EPOV

I rubbed my neck as we drove up the driveway to the house. It had been a long night. After Bella left, I had to rush to our warehouse and rough up some perv that was getting a little fresh with Rosalie at the hospital. Emmett wanted to tear his head off, but I took the reins and gave him a slow punishment. Fucker cried like a baby when i pried his fingernails off one by one. That wasn't even the hard part. He screamed even louder when I cut his fingers off. But now he won't be touching Rosalie or any other nurses with his disgusting hands and that was the real purpose of that mission. One of my boys threw him out on the side of a freeway, but not before I threatened him within an inch of his life if he breathed a soul about what happened in that warehouse. The look of terror on his face was all I needed before I pushed him into the van.

That's how you get shit done.

I cracked my knuckles as I got out of the car, making my way to the front door. I glanced at my watch, noting it was almost ten. I made it home two hours earlier than I planned, which was a relief. More time to see my girl. Hopefully she wasn't asleep.

I walked in and jogged up the stairs, heading to our bedroom. My shirt had blood on it from the idiot's splatter and I wanted to take it off before I scared Bella. She was finally starting to warm up to me and I knew she was skittish.

When I walked into the room, I saw Bella sitting on the ground with her back against the bed, her cell phone pressed to her ear. Her eyes widened when she saw the state I was in and I quickly mouthed to her that it wasn't my blood and took my shirt and tie off as I walked to the closet.

"I know, Daddy…" I heard Bella on the phone in the room. My dick twitched at her breathy voice. God damn, I could not handle her saying "daddy". I let out a frustrated sigh, leaning my head against the wall. I was dying to touch Bella. And not in the over the clothes, feel-her-up, junior high way, which is the only base I'd gotten to. I was jacking off more than I did in high school because I've never been so sexually deprived. October 10th could not come fast enough.

I put on a Harvard t-shirt and walked back into the bedroom to see Bella staring at her cellphone in her lap and twisting her engagement ring around her finger. I noticed that was a habit of hers when she was distracted or nervous. Back and forth, back and forth on her finger.

"You know, you're going to break that very expensive ring I bought you." I smirked at her.

Bella looked up at me and smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Sorry. It's a bad habit."

She stared at me for a beat, eyeing my new shirt.

"I hope whoever's blood was on your shirt is okay."

"He'll live. Barely."

Bella shook her head at me. "Yikes, Edward."

"It's my job, darling. I'll try not to let you see it as much." I leaned against the door frame, staring at her. Something was off.

She cleared her throat and smiled wryly at me. "Thanks."

There was a silence for thirty seconds as she looked back down on her lap, twisting her engagement ring on her finger. I smiled to myself as I stared at her. Of all the places in our huge room to sit down, including our king sized bed, she was sitting on the ground with her legs crossed and back against the side of the bed. It was quirky but because it was Bella, endearing as hell. Everything she did was so damn cute to me and I found myself craving to be around her. I wanted to know more about her every second I spent with her.

"Who was on the phone, Bella?"

She didn't say anything for a second, but I saw her swallow thickly. "Oh, um, that was my dad."

I stood there, waiting for her to continue.

"Did you know he is a chief police back home in Washington?" I paled at this, scared to know where it was heading.

"My dad, he's a proud policeman. He's an upstanding citizen of the law. And he raised his kids to be respectful and proud of his profession."

She finally looked up at me, her eyes glassy. I stood there with bated breath, watching her.

Bella took in a breath as two tears rolled down her face. "So it should come as no shock that he refuses to walk his only daughter down the aisle at her wedding." Her shoulders shook as she wiped at her cheeks.

"Because of her fiancée." I stared at Bella, imploringly. I wanted to comfort her so bad, but I didn't want to overwhelm her.

"Bella..." I started.

"He-he's supposed to accept me no matter what, Edward, right?" Bella was full on sobbing at this point. "He's my dad and he all but cut me out of my life."

I went over to her, crouching down so I was facing her. I grabbed her face, trying to wipe away her tears.

"Sweetheart, maybe if you let him calm down a bit…"

"No, Edward, you don't understand. He told me that I was no daughter of his if I was marrying someone like Edward Cullen. He said that I-I was dead to him." She choked out, launching herself in my arms, making me fall back from the surprise and cradle her to me as I sat back on the floor.

"I'm so, so sorry, Bella." One hand held her as she nestled her head into my shoulder. My other hand gathered her up, positioning her more into my lap and rubbing her back as she sobbed.

"What about your mom, Bell? Surely, she will still come."

"My mom and I have never been close. She follows my dad blindly. She has never been able to stand up to Charlie and she never will." She tightened her arms around my neck.

"How can they accept Evan and not me? They're okay with his drug problem, but they won't come to my wedding?"

It was quiet for a few moments as I rocked Bella with me, trying to calm her down. I laid my head on hers, kissing her forehead and rubbing her back up and down, up and down, until I could feel her stop shaking. She pulled away from me, but was still in my lap as she rubbed her face. She looked exhausted and I was about ten seconds away from flying to Washington myself and murdering Charlie Swan for making Bella feel this much pain.

She turned around in my lap so we were face-to-face and looked at me.

"Edward, I just…" She looked away, hesitant to continue.

I grabbed her wrist, tracing circles. "What is it, baby? You can tell me anything."

She reached forward and grabbed my face in her hands.

"I need you to know that you are the only thing I have left. I don't have Evan, Ben, my mom or dad. I live thousands of miles away from my hometown. I don't know anyone in the city. Edward, you are my family now." She closed her eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"You are my family, okay? You can't get bored of me or toss me to the side when you're done with your games. I won't be able to take that. You're the only person I have left in this world and I-I can't live without you, alright?" She opened her eyes, looking at me so desperately it broke the heart I didn't even know I had.

"You are my person and I need you." Bella let go of my face and sat back, twisting her engagement ring back and forth, back and forth.

I grabbed Bella from the ground, picking her up and carrying her to the bathroom. I set her down on the sink as she looked at me confused. I grabbed a washcloth from the closet and wet it with warm water as I wiped her face clean of tears. She sighed and leaned against me.

I put both of my hands on either side of her thighs, clutching onto the sink. We sat there in silence, our foreheads pressed against each other as I listened to her heavy breathing.

I kissed her forehead, before moving on to her right, and then left, eyelid, slowly working my way down her nose, then her cheeks, and finally kissing the corners of her mouth and planting faint, light kisses on her lips. It was the single most gentle, intimate thing I had ever done or felt with any person, in my entire life.

"You are my family, Isabella Marie Swan. I will never, ever tire of you. Do you hear me?"

Bella nodded softly, eyes closed as she leaned her forehead against mine.

"You are my wife. You are my person. The number one priority in my life, forever. I will take care of you and I will protect you, okay?"

I stroked her cheek softly, staring at her as she continued to lean on me, clutching on to my arm with her hand.

"Our children will be your family. Rose, Emmett, Jazz, and Alice, they will be your family. You'll never want for the people that hurt you, because life will be so good with me. I promise, baby." I lightly grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at me.

Bella stared at me. "You promise?"

"I promise, pretty girl. With all my being."

"Okay." Bella said so quietly I almost didn't hear her.

I helped her down from the sink, and led her to the bed. She looked emotionally and physically drained. I pulled back the covers for her and she got in, sinking into the bed, her eyes fluttering closed almost immediately. I slid in behind her, holding her to me as we laid there. I thought she had already drifted off when I heard her speak.

"Edward?"

I leaned into her, speaking into her neck. "Yeah, sweetheart?"

"Goodnight. I'm glad you're mine."

I laughed, not expecting that at all. "Goodnight, pretty girl. I'm glad you're mine, too."

I felt her squeeze my arm at that and I drifted off into dreamland, with a grin like an idiot plastered onto my face. My girl was coming around.


	13. Chapter 13

"Edward, how am I supposed to make friends if I have five bodyguards around me at all times?"

"Your safety is important to me, sweetheart. What can I say?"

"One."

"Four."

"Edward!" I huffed, stamping my foot on the floor. "This is not funny!"

He just stared at me, smirking.

"One." I kept my gaze, crossing my arms.

"I'm not going any lower than two. That's final."

"Two it is." I walked over to him and stretched my hand out to him.

He smiled and shook my hand.

"I would've settled for three." I said, smirking proudly.

He grabbed my waist and pulled me closer to him. "I would've given you one." He whispered to me. "You've got to learn to be a better negotiator, love."

He winked at me as I rolled my eyes, turning to head out to the driveway to leave for class.

"Hey!"

I turned, my hand on the doorknob.

"Aren't you going to give me a goodbye kiss?"

I scoffed. "You big baby." I ran over to him, making sure not to trip in my wedges. In addition to finishing my teaching degree, I was also student teaching so I had to be nicely dressed every day. A major bummer, for sure.

I stood up on my tip toes, even in my wedges, to give Edward a peck on the mouth. He deepened the kiss, wrapping both arms around me and picking me up so I was his height. I squealed, pulling away from him.

"Edward!" I pouted. "You're really going to make me late now."

He peppered my lips with a few more kisses as he set me back down. "Have a nice day, pretty girl."

I dashed out of the house and into the backseat of the car, where my two bodyguards were sitting up front and ready to go. I tried to play off the butterflies in my stomach, but I could not help my fingers from reaching up to my lips, feeling them tingle from Edward's kiss. I smiled to myself as we roared down the Interstate, heading to the University of Chicago.

* * *

I sat in class, trying to focus on what my professor was saying, but it was no use. It was 3:30 and I had been in class since 10. My attention span was fully gone and I looked around the room to entertain myself. I glanced behind me and sure enough, Thing 1 and Thing 2 were still posted at the back of the room, watching the other students like hawks. I sighed. I knew I shouldn't complain; Garrett and Tony were perfectly pleasant, but I just felt like it put such a big target on my back with the fellow students. We were all taking the same classes and student teaching in the same school, so I felt like I needed to make at least one friendship if I was going to get through the year.

As if someone was reading my thoughts, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around, coming face-to-face with a young man with short blonde hair.

"Sorry to bother you, but do you have a pencil I can borrow?"

I saw Garrett and Tony tense and I signaled to them that I was fine and they better not come over here. Protect me at a distance, I said to them this morning on the way to campus.

He followed my gaze and noticed them in the back. "You must be royalty or something with those guys, huh?"

I smiled tensely as I reached in my bag for an extra pencil. I wasn't sure how to respond to his question. I wanted to keep a low profile, but that seemed to not be working.

I turned back around to him, handing him the pencil. "Here you go."

"Hey, thanks a lot. I'm Mike, by the way." He reached out his hand and I shook it. "Wow. You really are royalty."

I was confused, until I noticed I shook his hand with my left one and he caught sight of my engagement ring. I drew my hand back quickly. "I'm really not."

The class droned on for 30 more minutes until finally he dismissed us. I grabbed my stuff quickly, wanting to get out of there and not awkwardly talk to Mike anymore about my unbearably large engagement ring. My face flushed just from thinking about it.

As I was walking up to Garrett, I heard someone hustling behind me. "Wait up!"

Garrett pushed me behind him, putting space between me and the person. I peeked around him, noticing it was Mike.

"It's fine, Garrett." I stepped around him, closer to Mike. "Sorry about that." I apologized to him. "They're kind of overprotective." Tony had grabbed Mike and pulled him away from me before I stepped in.

"You never told me your name."

"Oh. Sorry. It's Bella."

He smiled. "You wanna study together sometime? There are a few of us that meet in the library on Wednesday afternoons and work on Dr. Gordon's assignments."

"Yeah, that sounds great actually." Dr. Gordon was by and large my hardest professor.

"Right on! I'll see you at 2 on the third floor of the library! Don't forget, next Wednesday. Really nice to meet you, Bella."

I felt a tug on my sweater. "Let's go, Bella." Tony muttered to me.

"You too, Mike." I turned around and followed them back to the car, feeling happy I made a friend, despite the two buffoons that wouldn't leave my side.

* * *

We drove up to the house, which I had affectionately nicknamed the Cullen Compound in my head, and I headed upstairs, so ready to get out of these clothes. As I entered the bedroom, I realized they had brought in a lot of stuff from my apartment today while I was in class. About time, I thought. I had been nagging Edward about it for a while about needing my own clothes. He was very content with me just wearing his.

I sighed to myself as I looked at all the unopened boxes scattered around the room. I had a long day and going through all of these to find clothes was not something I wanted to be doing at the exact moment. I grabbed a pair of leggings and one of Edward's tshirts and called it a day. My hair, which had been curled that morning, was pulled back into a high pony and I headed downstairs to the kitchen.

"Edward? You home?" I called out, but no response.

I looked at the clock on the microwave. 5:30. I debated on whether or not to wait for Edward before cooking dinner, but I figured there was no telling when he would be back tonight. I cooked myself dinner and sat at the dining room, eating there until I looked up and noticed the sunset outside and a beautiful patio where I could sit. I moved out there and watched the sun go down as I finished my meal. I had just finished when I heard the door behind me open.

"Hi there."

I looked up from my plate and saw Edward closing the door and approaching me. He leaned down to give me a kiss before walking over to the chair across the table from me and sitting down in it.

"Hi. I made dinner if you want some. Sorry I didn't wait; I wasn't sure when you would be home."

He smiled wryly. "Thanks, sweetheart. Maybe later. I'm not too hungry right now."

I nodded, looking past Edward at the expansive lawn behind him. "It's really beautiful out here."

He looked behind him, staring at the colorful sky. "Yeah. I lived in the city for a long time in a high rise, but when I turned 30, I thought the grown up thing to do was buy a house."

"Did you plan on having a family to fill all these rooms up?"

"Not until I met you." He smiled crookedly at me.

Cue the butterflies. I blushed and looked down at my lap. He chuckled at my shyness and we sat there in comfortable silence. I glanced back up and studied Edward as he rubbed his hand over his face. He looked worn out. "Long day?"

"You could say that." He smiled tiredly at me. I had an urge to reach over and scratch his head, rub his arm, anything to help him relax. I tried to push it down. Give yourself space, Bella, I tried to remind myself.

"We can talk about it if you want." I paused, pushing my leftover food around on my plate. "I mean, I know I'm kind of skittish about your…job, but I can try."

"I'd rather talk about yours." His tone was hard. I glanced up at him, confused, and I noticed his face was serious.

"Okay." I hesitated. "What about my day?"

Edward reached over to a side table and pulled out a lighter, cupping his hand and lighting a cigar he pulled from his inside coat pocket. He took a drag and leaned back in his chair.

"Tony mentioned you met a guy today." Edward stared at me. "He got a little close, I heard."

I had to restrain myself from laughing. "Are you jealous, Edward?"

He rolled his eyes before taking another drag of the cigar. "I'll always be jealous of any guy that comes too close to you, darling."

"I guess they got nervous when he kind of ran up to me after class. He saw my engagement ring, Edward, so he knows I'm not available." I paused. "I didn't mention who I was engaged to, though."

"And why's that?"

"It's just that your name carries a lot of weight, you know? I don't want anyone to be scared of me. Although I think the bodyguards take care of that on their own."

"Gotta keep the princess safe."

"At a primary school instruction class, Edward? Who could you possibly be keeping me safe from in there?" I scoffed.

Edward put out his cigar in the ashtray. "You'd be surprised. This city is crawling with my enemies and unfortunately, you've become my biggest weakness."

I gulped audibly and stared at Edward across the table. "That scares me."

"I know." Edward replied softly.

There was silence for a beat as we listened to the crickets in the yard.

"I say that to you to make you aware. You're not just normal Bella Swan from Washington anymore; you're soon-to-be Bella Cullen, wife of the most powerful man in Chicago." He looked at me. "You need to be on guard with everyone, especially males."

He stood up and walked over to me, grabbing my face with his hands and bending down to kiss my forehead. "Especially males."

We locked eyes and he stood up, holding his hand out me. "Come on, let's go to bed."

I laced my fingers in his and headed up the stairs, my thoughts mulling about Mike and my perceived naivety.


	14. Chapter 14

I stood there, hands on my hips, eyeing the mess on the kitchen table. There was glitter, glue, construction paper, colored pencils, scissors, and more piled on Edward's large mahogany dining room table that I had hauled in from an expensive session at the store. I rationalized it in my head by just doing what I was told. Edward did tell me I should spend some of his money, so why not go crazy in the crafting aisle? It was a Saturday afternoon and my first day of student teaching was on Monday so I was in teacher mode this weekend. I wanted to make student place cards for every student - each with a unique spin. Hence the glitter and glue and everything else. I was planning on getting started, but felt a bit overwhelmed by my mess.

I ran my hands through my hair, which was pulled back in a sporty high ponytail. My outfit matched my hairstyle; I had on a pair of sheer black leggings, my running shoes, and a University of Chicago t-shirt that was Ben's and was two sizes two big. I had been running errands all day long and had just gotten back to the house. Edward left unbearably early this morning and I hadn't seen him since. He texted me sparingly, but I didn't pry into what he was doing. On the off chance that I was curious about where he was going, he was often really cagey with me. Like he was trying to gauge whether or not he could trust me. Which was rich coming from him. He should be earning my trust, not the other way around. I let out a sigh, kindergarten thoughts and adult thoughts rolling around my head when i heard the kitchen door open.

Edward walked through the door with Emmett and Jasper, as well as three other men in their close circle.

He stepped through the doorway of the kitchen to the living room, stopping in the threshold and eyed me up and down, his eyebrows raising as he said, "Hi."

I huffed once more, keeping my hands on my hips, lifting my eyes from the mess to meet his. "Hi."

He smirked at me. "What's going on, Bella?"

"I'm trying to find the inspiration to start creating place cards."

"Place cards?"

I glared at him. "Edward. Have you already forgotten that I start student teaching on Monday?"

He walked around the table, picking up a cut out letter "b" and examining it, "No, no, I remember. It's just that…" He paused, setting the letter down before slowly glancing back up at me, "we live in such different worlds, darling." he laughed.

At this point, the rest of the boys came in, laughing and looking at all the materials.

My face flushed and it became apparent to me how silly my project must have looked to the mafia crew. I was about to grab everything and put it away when I glanced at edward to see him looking at me.

We had a silent exchange while the boys continued to hoot and holler.

He still held eye contact with me when he said, "Boys."

They all glanced up at Edward.

Edward finally broke my gaze and turned towards them, "I think Bella is going to need some help creating these for her students. Let's get to it."

One of the boys, Paul, I gathered from their laughs earlier, scoffed. "Boss, you gotta be joking. I'm not fucking doing glitter crafts…"

Paul quickly realized his mistake and the room was so silent you could hear a pin drop. I held my breath as I looked at Edward, who was staring at Paul. He sighed while making his way across the room to stand in front of him.

"When, I wonder, did everyone forget who was in charge around here?" Edward said, grabbing Paul so suddenly around the neck that I thought I imagined it. I gasped, my hands coming up to cover my mouth, watching in disbelief as Edward held Paul by the throat against the wall.

"Who is the Don, Paul?" Edward asked.

"You - you are, sir," Paul squeaked out.

"And who are you?"

"No one." Paul said, his face getting red.

"What was that?" Edward said, squeezing his neck even tighter.

Paul could barely get a breath out, much less talk. His face was getting redder by the second. I started to panic. I opened my mouth, getting ready to say something to Edward when I saw Emmett out of the corner of my eye. He was staring at me and shook his head, signaling me not to say anything. My eyes widened and I nodded at him, understanding that there were moments where it was best to stay quiet.

Paul wheezed out, "No… no one."

Edward dropped his hand and Paul fell to the ground, grasping at his throat and breathing so hard it was all anyone heard in the room. Edward stared down at him, shaking his head in disgust.

"Pathetic." he swore under his breath. He turned to the rest of the men in the room.

"Anybody else have any funny comments they would like to contribute to the conversation?" He paused, looking around. "No? Then do as Bella says. With a fucking smile on your face."

There was a chorus of "yes sirs" around the room and with that, the group sat down and started to get to work. I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. Edward put his hands in his pockets and started walking toward the steps. As he passed by me, he touched the small of my back and nodded his head in out of the room, indicating he wanted me to follow him. He led me out so that we were standing at the base of the stairs.

He stared at me, giving me a quick kiss before pulling back and rubbing his fingers on the long ends of my shirt. "How was your day?"

I stared at him, dumbfounded. "Are you serious right now?"

"What?" He said, confused.

"Are we not going to talk about what you just did in there?"

"What, with Paul?" I nodded, my eyes wide. He rolled his eyes at me. "Please, Bella, that was nothing. He's lucky I didn't do worse. He's been mouthy all damn day." He swore under his breath.

"And then he's going to come in and disrespect you? Hell no. He needed to be put in his place."

I covered my hands with my face. "Edward, they hate me."

He laughed, grabbing my hands in his. "They don't hate you, Bella. Believe me."

"You're forcing them to craft with me!"

Edward laughed. "They should be thanking me. That shit should be relaxing compared to some of the stuff they get asked to do from me."

I closed my eyes, shaking my head. "Edward."

He laughed. "Listen, Jazz and Emmett are there and they know you're priority number one always. But if Paul or one of the new boys keeps up with the attitude or makes you feel bad, you let me know, you got it? I'm your first call, your first text, your first everything." He glared over to Paul in the next room. "I'll do more than just squeeze his throat; I'll break his fucking arms."

I sighed, shaking my head.

Edward brought his attention back to me and looked at my outfit.

"Bella."

I looked up at him, confused. "Yes?"

"Whose t-shirt is that?"

I glanced down at my shirt, tugging at the long edges hanging to my knees.

"Why?"

Edward rubbed his forehead in frustration, closing his eyes. "It swallows you. I know it's not yours and i know it's not mine. So help me God, Bella, if you have another man's shirt on in my house…"

"Edward." I said, looking at him.

He opened his eyes, still rubbing his forehead.

"It is another man's shirt."

"Fucking hell," he swore, turning away from me.

I laughed. "Edward!" I grabbed his arm to pull him back to me. "Relax. It's Ben's shirt."

He glared at me. "Bella, if you pull that shit on me again…"

"I was only kidding." I smiled sweetly at him. "You're just so easy to get riled up."

"Am I?" He smirked, suddenly grabbing me and throwing me across his shoulder and taking off up the stairs. "Let's see how easily you can get riled up."

"Edward!" I laughed, pounding on his back. "Let me go, you loser."

He dropped me on the bed, laughing and pinning me down, tickling me until we were both out of breath. We stared at each other and Edward leaned into kiss me. It was a deep, consuming kiss.

He pulled back to allow me to catch a breath before going back in for another when I whispered to him, "Wedding."

He sighed from what felt like the bottom of his soul and laid his head on my shoulder. I reached up and ran my fingers through his hair.

"I'm sorry." I said, feeling horrible.

"Don't be." He kissed me quickly, standing up from the bed. "You made a choice to wait to have sex. Don't go back on it; own it."

His reaction surprised me and I found myself feeling empowered by it.

"Yeah." I said, leaning up on my elbows to look at him. "You're right."

He smirked at me. "First rule of leadership, Bella. Don't apologize for decisions you make. It makes you look weak."

I nodded, thinking about this as I saluted him.

Edward laughed, his eyes crinkling as he looked at me. "And with that," he said, turning around toward the bathroom, "I'm going to take a cold shower."

He got to the doorway of the bathroom before turning back to me, saying, "17 days, Bella. Don't you forget it."

I laughed, laying back on the bed as I heard him turning on the water.

* * *

14 days until the wedding. That's wild.

I was sitting in class, doodling, thinking of how close our wedding way was approaching. I had a fitting with Alice right after this class let out and I had to admit, I was pretty excited about it. I knew she was crazy talented and would design a beautiful dress for me, but I was also feeling the butterflies of nervousness rumble around in my stomach. I sat there, looking at the professor talk about lesson plans and found myself thinking about how I had yet to pay for the semester. I mentally slapped myself. We were a week in and I hadn't received a bill in the mail or anything. Probably because the school still had my old apartment address. I made a mental note to go to the post office after the fitting to fill out a change of address form.

Finally, the teacher wrapped up and I jumped up, grabbing my bag and heading to the boys in the back of the auditorium. They opened the door for me as I made my way to the car, where Garrett was waiting for me. He nodded at me, opening the car door.

"Good class, Bella?" He said.

"Oh, you know, just the run of the mill lesson planning."

Garrett laughed, "Oh, yes. Of course."

I giggled in the back seat. Edward had personally assigned Garrett as my guard at all times. There were a couple of different guys with me that seemed to rotate in and out, but Garrett was always there and he was always the main one in charge of all the other guards with me. I enjoyed his company and it didn't hurt that he had a great sense of humor and was pretty lenient with me.

I glanced down at my phone as Garrett drove the car away from campus, noticing Edward had texted me.

 _How was class?_

 _Not too bad._ I wrote back.

 _Are you headed to Alice's now?_ Edward replied.

I glanced up, looking out the window and noticing we were going in the direction of Alice and Jasper's penthouse in the city.

 _That's a big 10-4._ I laughed to myself, writing this.

Edward wrote back, _Alright, ranger. Let me know when you make it home._

I smiled. _Will do._

I shut my phone as we pulled up to her apartment. I headed inside, where I barely knocked on the door before she whisked me into her beautiful place that was filled with white fabric.

"Hi, Alice." I said, laughing as I looked around. "It looks like a wedding threw up in here."

"Oh, this is nothing," she said. "You should see this place during fashion week."

"She's right." I turned my head to see Jasper on the other side of the room, leaning against the wall, eating a bowl of cereal. "It's a mad house."

I laughed, "Hi, Jasper."

He nodded, smiling at me before turning around and heading to the kitchen where his phone was ringing. I heard him pick it up. "Boss."

Ah, I thought, It was the almighty Edward Cullen calling. I heard Jasper put his dishes in the sink and say "yes sir" before hanging up the phone and coming into the living room where we were. He walked over to Alice and gave her a kiss while heading to the front door.

"Duty calls." He said over his shoulder before glancing back at us. "See y'all later." He said, closing the door behind him.

"So." Alice said, turning to me. "Shall we get started?"

* * *

10 minutes later, I stood in Alice's living room on her coffee table, staring at myself in the mirror, dressed in the most beautiful dress I had ever seen.

Alice had made a masterpiece. It had long sleeves with a beautiful lace pattern that surrounded my arms. The bodice was tight and angled at all the right places, which flowed naturally into a gorgeous skirt, with delicate lace patterns at the bottom that were barely noticeable.

"Alice," I breathed out. "This is beyond anything I could have ever dreamed of."

She smiled, studying the dress as she stood right in front of me.

"Janie." Alice said and nodded her head at me. I was confused until I saw a woman jump to attention and walk over to me, bending down in front of me to hem the bottom of my dress.

"Janie is the best seamstress in all of Chicago." Alice said to me and I glanced down at her, where I saw her blush.

I looked back at myself in the mirror. "I like that the bottom of the dress isn't poofy and huge."

"Oh yeah, girl." Alice said, "You're getting married, not going to the prom."

I laughed. Janie stepped back and stood beside Alice where they both cocked their heads to the side and stared at me. I looked at them in marvel, thinking how interesting and serious Alice and her team took their jobs.

Alice looked at Janie and nodded, clasping her hands. "Alright." She said, looking at me. "We officially have your wedding dress."

I folded my hands together, placing them under my chin. "Thank you so much, Alice. I can't tell you how much I love it."

She rushed over to help me off the table and hugged me. "Of course! What are sisters for?"

I hugged Alice back, feeling so grateful to have a light like her in such a dark world.

* * *

I left Alice's in a great mood and hopped in the car.

Garrett started the car, "To the house, Bella?"

"Yes," I said as he pulled out into traffic. I was watching the buildings go by when i realized my mistake.

"Oh, actually, no! I need to stop by the post office for a change of address form." I told Garrett.

He looked at me in the rearview mirror. "Oh, well, I think Edward already took care of that for you."

I sat back in the seat. "That's odd." I said. "If that's the case, then why haven't I gotten any mail from the school?" I was thinking out loud at this point, not really talking to Garrett. I did, however, notice that he cleared his throat and wouldn't make eye contact with me in the mirror.

"Garrett," I said slowly, "what do you know that I don't?"

"Bella, honestly, it's not a big deal."

"Garrett." I grounded out. "Tell me."

"I think you should talk to Edward about this." He said, switching lanes to get on the Interstate. "We'll be home in 10 minutes."

I sat back in the seat, fuming. What had Edward done with my mail? And why didn't Garrett want to say anything?

* * *

We pulled up to the house and I jumped out, heading to the front door.

"Bella!" I heard Garrett yell after me, but I didn't stop.

I ran upstairs, checking our room, but he was nowhere to be found. I went back into the hallways and headed to his office, which was a few doors down from our bedroom. The door was closed, but I could care less. I flung the door open, walking in on Edward talking with Emmett, Jasper, and Tony.

They all glanced at me, Emmett and Jasper laughing at me while Tony stood up to get a drink. Edward raised his eyebrows, surprised at my arrival.

"Hello, darling. Why the dramatic entrance?"

I opened my mouth to talk, but before I could, I felt Garrett behind me.

"Boss, I tried to stop her, but she knows about the school…"

Edward raised his hand, signaling Garrett to stop talking. "It's fine, Garrett." He glanced at Emmett, Jasper, and Tony. "I need a moment with my future wife, boys."

They stood up and headed out, snickering and closing the door behind them.

Edward was still sitting back in his chair, eyeing me up and down. "Have a seat, love." He gestured to the chair that was just vacated by Emmett. "You look pretty today."

I glared at him. "Don't try to butter me up, Edward. And I'm not sitting down until you tell me about why I haven't been getting mail from my school."

He looked at me before speaking. "Well, it's really quite simple, sweetheart. I paid for your school already. Which would explain the no mail getting."

"I can't believe you did that without asking me." I fumed.

"Well, I'll do you one better, Bella. In addition to your tuition, I thought I would go ahead and take care of your student loans from undergrad."

I was officially speechless. "I...I…"

Edward smirked at me. "I believe the word you're looking for is 'thank you'."

"Edward!" I yelled. "That's my debt! My business! I was paying it off!"

He rolled his eyes. "That's very sweet, Bella. I'm sure you were. However, I frankly don't care. So I say this with all due respect: get over it."

"Get over it?! That's what you're saying to me right now?!" I was so mad I couldn't see straight.

"Yes, baby, that's what I'm saying to you right now. As far as I'm concerned, your business is my business. You will be my wife in two weeks. We're in this together, so everything you have concerns me."

I put my hand on my forehead, shaking my head in disbelief. I went to a private school for undergrad and it was not cheap. "Edward, it was over a hundred thousand dollars."

"Yes, darling, I remember. I paid it." He stared at me quizzically as he leaned forward, putting his hands on the desk and leaning forward towards me. "Just curious - how much do you think I'm worth?'

I was confused. "As in your net worth?'

He nodded.

"I don't have a clue, Edward. I mean, I know you have this big, beautiful house, but how the hell am I supposed to know how much the leader of the Chicago Mafia is worth?"

He smiled, looking down at his desk before looking back up at me. "3 billion, Bella. 3 billion."

My heart and stomach dropped to my shoes. "3 billion?" I whispered. "Which would make you…"

"The wealthiest man in Chicago, yes. But I'm assuming you already knew this, correct?" I nodded, speechless.

He continued, "You just probably didn't know by how much." Again, I nodded; I couldn't even form a sentence it seemed.

He stood up from the desk, walking over to me. "So you can see how a hundred thousand dollars wouldn't really faze me."

"I'll say," I whispered.

"Bella?" He said, which made me look up at him.

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to go lay down for a bit?" He was standing right in front of me, pushing some hair out of my face.

"Yeah, I think that would be good."

"Alright, baby." He said, kissing me on the cheek and stepping around me to open the door. "Garrett." He said, and Garrett was right there.

"Yes, sir."

"Take Bella back to our bedroom. She needs to lay down for a while."

"Yes, sir." Garrett grabbed my arm and led me out of the room, as I was still in a state of shock and disbelief. 3 billion. 3 billion. It kept playing over and over in my head.

"Bella." I turned around just as Garrett led me out of the doorway of Edward's office.

"Yes?"

"I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah." I said, in a daze as I turned back around to Garrett. I heard Tony, Emmett, and Jasper head back into the office and close the door.

We made it back to the bedroom and I sat on the bed. Garrett was leaving when I finally felt like I could form a sentence again.

"Garrett?"

He turned around, looking at me.

"3 billion dollars is a lot of money."

"Yes ma'am, it is."

"He's only 34."

"Yes ma'am, he is."

There was a short silence as we stared at one another.

"Okay, Garrett." I said, "I think I'm going to take a nap now."

"Yes ma'am." Garrett nodded at me and closed the door to the bedroom as I laid down on the bed, where I drifted off to sleep, dreaming about mountains and mountains of money that only Edward could climb.


End file.
